


Force Knows

by Bantha_Fodder



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rise of Empire Era - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Ahsoka Tano Lives, Angst and Feels, BAMF Ahsoka Tano, Canon Rewrite, Darth Vader Redemption, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Choking, Force Ghosts, Force Knows, Force Visions, Gray Jedi, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Light Side Sith Warrior, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Other, Quote: The Force works in mysterious ways, Rare Pairings, Seduction to the Dark Side, Sith Code, Skywalker Family Feels, Space Opera at its Finest, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Dark Side of the Force, The Force Ships It, The Master Has Issues, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2018-12-27 12:46:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 37,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12081354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bantha_Fodder/pseuds/Bantha_Fodder
Summary: Darth Vader has force visions that his once padawan will become incredibly strong with the Dark Side, so he seeks her out to continue her training. Ahsoka senses there is hope still for the galaxy through the remnants of her master. She believes she can guide him to be a force for good once again. But, the Force has a will of its own...Alternatively: The Sith and Jedi are on opposite extremes of the spectrum. Balance doesn't necessarily come from within and healing comes in many, sometimes unorthodox forms.





	1. Begin Again

**Author's Note:**

> Approximately 5 years after Revenge of the Sith. Ahsoka has come into contact with Vader a handful of times since the fall of the Jedi and survives each occasion. Events on Malachor are closer to 14BBY sans Star Wars: Rebels support. We can assume Ahsoka has been in hiding and was scraping by doing mechanic work on Raada still but she didn't lead any rebellion.

 

**Chapter 1**

 

Ahsoka's POV: 

Heavy breathes escape my chest despite my best effort to remain silent... The Force is overwhelmingly thick in this space, like a tidal wave crashing down upon me..  It feels conflicted and fickle as if still deciding how it will influence the future. 

Shifting my vision up to the tree line, I’m able to take in how much light is being absorbed and made impassible through the canopy. There is a dank and dreariness to to this wretched planet. Dagobah, to say slightly is dampening my conviction for scouring this planet in hopes to seek him out... What happened in the temple on Malachor reminds me of my mission.

I take a few more purposeful breaths... _Center yourself Ahsoka_ I think inwardly, I focus to bring myself back to the present. The Force prompts me to recall what I felt during our last encounter, despite all the hate and storming rage, I could sense misery pooling off of Vader into the Force... No, it was more than that, something more honest and human, something I could mistake for remorse were it coming from any other being in the galaxy....

 Those words spoken across our bond keep replaying in my head.. ‘Ahsoka, why did you leave... Did you know what I’ve become?’... Anakin Skywalker is no more, I chastise myself and shake my head to dismiss the thought. Though it does little for silencing the voice as it continues to replay in my mind.  

Crickets chirp around me and the reverberating bellow of toads echo in the background. I close my eyes and focus on what the Force has to show me... I see a form of darkness growing closer, approaching me with an ominous purpose the tendrils of which gather and the source materializes before me, the darkness takes shape in the form of a black cloaked figure, shakily I suck in another full breath of air while opening my eyes.

Mechanical breathing inundates my senses, and despite years of fighting in the Clone Wars and evading Imperial Forces, my adrenaline spikes and takes ahold of me. Slowly I turn my head over my shoulder and see the omnipotent Sith Lord awaiting my recognition.

 

Vader’s POV:

The fog is dispersing on the ground around her. I can’t help to notice how much she has changed since the days of her apprenticeship... Taller now her head is to my shoulders when considering the added height of the mechanical limbs within this suit, is quite impressive. Her montrals have spurted up adding a few more centimeters to reach the base of my mask, Her lekku have since tripled in length, now hanging down past her waist. Constant dodging and hiding have made her expression more wearisome but her features are not yet etched with the lines of eternal exhaustion. Ahsoka’s eyes still hold the same glistening hope and light of what I once saw in them. Though her face has become thinned and narrow, no doubt due to lack of regular food rations and standard comforts.

“Why’d you let me track you so easily?” she asked without turning around to face me directly.

How foolish she still was, naive to the outcome of her pursual across the star systems.

There was so much untapped potential reverberating around her on Malachor... So, Ahsoka Tano had escaped the effects of order 66, my ex-padawan did always have a knack for evading the confines and jurisdiction of authority. Even more, she proved herself a worthy opponent at our most recent crossing...

Silence drags on and I do not have a solid reply to her question, Sidious would be ill pleased with the knowledge of letting her go so easily after our duel, no matter, her usefulness in the still young Empire could redeem this folly.

I re-establish what she argued on Malachor  “You said you wouldn’t leave me again...” 

 

Ahsoka POV:

A plethora of emotions cross over my face in an instant, I pivot out to look at Vader square on... “I meant it” I state, “But, I have no intention of becoming one of your inquisitors to carry out your bidding.”

Thoughts race across our abandoned bond, visions spurred from Vader inundate my consciousness...the sight of a sickly man in hooded black robes is seated upon a high throne in a barren and open room, durasteel paneled windows to his back looking out on empty space...

The scene flips to an open pasture with green tall grass all around me and laughter in the background, feminine hands wrapping around my midsection and pulling me in closer...

The vision shifts back to a training room where I am kneeling down before the same inhumane man who’s glaring down at me, though this is no sparr, as electricity is pulverizing down upon me and I can smell the stench of singed armor and skin...

Again there is a shift to a moment shared this time now with Obi-Wan, _Force..._ Master Kenobi looks so young, just beginning to grow out his trademark beard. After a stunt of what could arguably be considered a cruiser landing, the young master lets out an exasperated sigh followed by a scoff and shoots a slanted grin in my direction and as he grips my shoulder while rising....

And finally, I'm shot back to the swamp, out of Vader’s memories and into the present, but in the second person as I see myself how Vader is now observing me....

I am taken aback and it's obvious as my breath hitches and I take an unbalanced step forward... Over our bond, I press ‘I didn't realize our training bond had remained so intact... what point was there to show me any of this?’

The Force it seems has decided, it is being more direct now pushing me towards Vader in a way that intends no harm or malice but one that seems to know a certain understanding is forming. A new sort of an alignment.

 

Vader POV:

Without thinking I take two strides forward to move closer to her. It is instances like these where I curse that I have little more than words to express myself. ‘Ahsoka, there is much you do not understand, but I can show you.’ I send through our bond.

Her arms are wrapped across her front and she slowly shifts her eyes from the marsh floor to meet the lenses of my mask... she speaks lowly “I refuse to become Sith.” the tension in the Force around us surges, and I continue holding my stance, “But that doesn’t mean I can’t learn from your teachings” she concludes.

The repetitive unchangeable breathing cycle of my life support wouldn’t show this, but I release a lengthy sigh.. _._ _Once you taste the power of the Dark Side, there will be no turning back_ I inwardly state.

 “Then it begins” I say.

 

Ahsoka POV:

A gentle calm creeps over me, being this close to Vader really shouldn’t bring me this much peace I mull over... Less than a moment passes, and he turns on his heel, I inhale sharply while skipping a few steps to keep his pace.... Although there is now a mutual understanding between us there is little that is certain.

While I no longer consider myself a Jedi, the order represented the terms and basis of our past interactions. Now it seems that there aren’t any rules, that leaves an unfamiliar level of interaction up for interpretation... This is so foreign, although the Force seems to approve as it bounces from one end of our rekindled master-padawan bond to the other.

As I walk by his side I come to terms with what future now means, I say to him, “M-Master... I think it would be wise to establish expectations”. We continue our lengthy gait for a few hundred meters as I give him time to respond. The shape of a black imperial lambda-class T-4a shuttle comes into vision, and he slows...

The shuttle’s ramp is now descending, he replies as softly as the vocorecorder allows “In another lifetime I made you a promise, that I wouldn’t let anyone harm you. That era has long since ended, I cannot stand by that promise any longer. For the ways of the Darkside often cannibalize those who wield its power. I will guide you, but this will be no easy venture.”

“It never was simple with you Skyguy” I whisp back.... Silence intrudes and I hesitate, we will be testing boundaries for a while I realize. Before I’m betrayed with the worry of overstepping, I sense a bemused tug through our bond.

He leads me into the cruiser, clearly, it was intended for transport and short duration reconnaissance missions. Its a craft big enough for only a small crew, a size that was selected for its easy maneuverability on Dagobah. The ramp is completely retracted now and the durasteel doors close with a final hiss-click of the locking mechanism. A tinge of uneasiness swells in my stomach... What if this is all a trap and now Vader has me right where he wants me. _Kriff... Ahsoka how could you be such an idiot..._

 

Vader POV:

I move to the controls room and sit down into the pilot’s seat. There was no need for extraneous personal for this rendezvous, I knew she would give in eventually. It had just been a matter of time, the Force showed me a glimpse into the future, and in it Ahsoka Tano was strong and capable with the Dark Side in this vision. This _is_ the will of the Force.

Catching her shudder and heartbeat quicken I spin around to see her eyes shifting inadvertently around the ship. I reach out between us to understand where this reaction is coming from, but am immediately met with intense mental shields bearing down. Perturbed, I rise from my position catching the fear emanating from her, it isn’t through her thoughts that I see what she is thinking but through the emotion pooling and twisting around in her bright blue eyes.

She has made herself vulnerable and now sees it... I stand there taking in all that she feels, I wait to move forward. “We will be heading to a fortress in the outer rim, it shouldn’t take us more than a few hours to it reach from this backwater pit.” I see her demeanor shift slightly but it did not have the full effect on Ahsoka as I would have liked. I add, “There are sleeping quarters all the way down to the left of the hall... I’m sure rest has been elusive, you will need your strength.”

 

Ahsoka POV:

_If he wanted me killed, I’d be dead already_ I think to myself... “I... I think I’d prefer to stay up here” I respond. “Suit yourself” is his dry and brisk retort.

I take a seat beside him in the co-pilots seat. As we take off and pass through the treeline something inside me shifts and I relax back into the chair. It dawns on me that this is the first time, in what seems like a century I am not running from something.

The light from the distant sun takes over the viewport and for a brief second I’m blinded by its faint warmth, I feel a kind brush over my consciousness and I can’t place where it’s originating from... When I feel the ship accelerate into the upper planetary atmosphere I snap out of the sensation and look to my left incredulously. It couldn’t have been him.. I mistook the presence for Anakin, narrowing my eyes I turn my head away...

Out of the corner of my vision, I see Vader’s helmet bob slightly as if acknowledging the thought. I pause... this must be the will of the Force... I wouldn’t be sitting, let alone breathing next to the most feared figurehead of the Galactic Empire by mere chance or stupidity...

Darth Vader claims Anakin Skywalker is dead, but I must hold on to the hope that he is still in there... No matter how deeply buried and broken he is within the shell of Vader, I cannot abandon him again, not when the fate of the galaxy is weighing on his shoulders, and if the choice to spare me on Malachor wasn’t evidence enough, surely taking me into his fold must be a sign that whoever is sitting beside me isn’t darkness incarnate.

 

Vader’s POV:

Rattled and unsure the apprentice feels in the Force. She will learn her place and settle with time... It has been an unimaginable span of time since we could both be in each other’s company and be at ease. The dynamic between the weakling Skywalker and her was shattered when she walked out on the Jedi after her almost prosecution in the Senate.

Subtly and quietly prying into her emotions I sense resentment still broods over her betrayal by the council... good, this should serve as a solid starting point in her training. I reach further in and discover much longing to reach out to her old master and remorse for not having done so, the shadow cast on her abandonment by those who she trusted on the council picks away at her resolve... That explains her finicky reaction when we first boarded the cruiser. 

The Force abrasively passes between us, my master need not know of this new arrangement. No doubt he will consider this a fruition of past attachments, but Ahsoka is too strong with the Force to just put down like the rest of the Jedi filth. She will make an unequivocal agent for the Empire. I can feel that there are still deep ties to her once beloved code, this too will soon crumble away under the method of reteaching her what she knows of the Force...She will be molded into something unbreakable.... But first she must be torn down, so I may begin to rebuild...


	2. Give In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader in tow with his once apprentice, take off to Mustafar. This planet has seen many pivotal turning points... it is only fitting to introduce Ahsoka to the Dark Side of the Force here. Ahsoka isn't giving up the Jedi teachings she subscribed to for her entire upbringing, well at least not easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating change is based on content in this chapter and most likely future scenes

**Chapter 2**

 

Ahsoka's POV:

Lost in the quiet of my thoughts I notice that in my own lamenting we have exited the Dagobah System, had entered, and are preparing to exit a hyperspace jump... in realizing how much time had passed the stars outside of our shuttle regain their normal spacing and the whirl of blues and white return to the contrasted black space littered with thousands of stars... A molten scorched planet is  suspended before us... dumbfounded I almost inaudibly mouth “Mustafar?”

This planet aligns itself with the dark side of the force... its intensity ebbs against the ship even from this distance. Our descent is swift, and soon my senses are being filled with the heavy and dry air of the planet. Vader takes us low over the veins of the lava river below.. There is a new twisting gravity within the dark presence beside me, he feels altered seeping with a newfound rage, perhaps distant memories are fueling his increased presence... He maneuvers the shuttle through the valley until we approach a landing pad attached to one monolith of a fortress, as I prep the landing gear I ask, “Do we need to comm in a request to land?” he responds, “It is not necessary.” I then extend the landing ramp and start to follow Vader off the shuttle.

We're not more than five steps away from the ship, as I mentally sneer, ‘You could have chosen any system in the whole galaxy...and you decided upon this---’ before I can even finish the thought I’m being dragged off my feet by an incredible force grip around my neck... hoisted in the air I am swung around to face the Vader.. I refuse to claw at his grasp, air struggles through my trachea, defiantly I look down at him... “This place has done much to develop the Sith Lord before you..” His grip tightens even further, and I can’t help a gasping sound to escape my lips... “It would be wise to restrain your thoughts...” a rogue tear escapes my eye and streams down my face, I whisper “Please..” and just as quickly as it happened I’m let go of and drop to the duracrete landing pad.

 

Vader’s POV:

Ruminations invade my mind... without processing what I’m doing I’m forced to release her and turn away... have I learned nothing from when Padme was in the same position not so long ago... My mechanical breathing steadies my mind... I feel the Padawan's expression fixed on me and instantly I clasp down my mental shields... I hear a gentle reprise “I’m so, so sorry master” the sincerity in her voice betrays that she shared in the vision from my memory...

Without turning back to face her... I speak, “follow me, I will familiarize you with the premises.” After a moment to steady herself, she is up and by my side, face pointed down reverently. There is nothing to be said as we enter the fortress. Upon moving in through a hangar bay we make our way to a transport lift to jut up to the main hall, I motion for her to exit first, she does cautiously and paces a few steps forward to stop in the middle of the great room gazing at the transparisteel outlook over the shores of Mustafar.

From within Ahsoka Tano, I can feel the gears shifting to make sense of this place, and what purpose it has served... She has an uncanny ability to sense spaces around her whether it be from her power in the Force or the assistance of her hollow montrals, her body language seems to resonate with the echoing cries of Jedi who were brought here for information extraction. She continues to pace towards the 15m high windows... her breathing hitches with raw emotion as she stops right before the scene in front of her. 

I approach purposefully to where I am standing right behind her... Without words, she reaches out to me with comfort and compassion... an undertone of bubbling anger and disappointment in the back of her mind is being put out by a dwelling association of responsibility.

 

Ahsoka’s POV:

I dare not push too far, too fast... The pain and suffering that has transpired here has been absorbed by the world itself, transcended to be a reminder for all who dwell here. I turn to face the Dark Lord and he guides me across the lightless, foreboding hall.

The layout of this palace is swathed in black, polished stone that reflects the dark energy that is so alive in this space. Transparisteel foundations shoot up extruding from the walls to meet in the center the ceiling all leading to one central point. There are no flourishings on any of the walls and lighting is kept to a minimum, to allow the molten scene outside to cast an eerie glow upon the interior of the grand room.

I’m taken up a set of staircases to a higher floor and find out that the dark and cold architecture of the main hall will be a constant theme throughout the fortress. As if the host and planet weren’t enough as is to intimidate any ‘guests’.

Vader shows me over to where an impressively sized holo library is located, as well as a room dedicated to meditation, we pass further down to the east wing of the hall to enter into a sparring room. “Tomorrow shall mark the beginning of a new dawn” Vader announces as his gaze sweeps around the training facility back to me.

“Yes master,” I reply with a solemn inclination of my head. A flashback is pulled into my mind, _You would have never made it as Obi-Wan’s padawan, but you might just make it as mine._  I resist the urge to shiver...

 

Vader’s POV:

  
Lastly is to show her quarters. I lead her up to the third level of the fortress. I must admit that she is much more fearless than I originally thought, either that or she has learned to mask such emotions from me quickly.

Nevertheless, I will not make this a smooth transition for her... She will bend to the will of the Dark Side before she earns the right to become my apprentice once more. Ahsoka Tano may cripple beneath the surge of my power, but she will come out a force to be reckoned with.

With the rise of a hand the double doors at the end of the west facing corridor open, I let her step foot first into the living area, I imply “I trust you will find adequate accommodation here, if not there is a service droid assigned to you to get you whatever you may require.”

She stops halfway into the bedchamber of the corridor and shifts back around to face me... The light entering from the windows of the just visible moons illuminate her facial markings and head tails graciously... _she has grown so, beautifully, over the years_... my mind begins to wander over her frame before I put a halt to my mind's trailings.

Ahsoka’s blue markings on her lekku deepen to a near black, the equivalent of a Togrutan blush.  
Again I realize my thoughts were not as protected from her as I first anticipated... A sad smile paints her face as she softly speaks, “Thank you... for this” as she motions around the room.

With a curt nod, I retreat out of the wing. Make to the opposite end of the hallway where I enter my own quarters, force willing perhaps the promise of tomorrow will allow me to find rest.

 

* * *

 

Ahsoka’s POV:

  
\--Several weeks of training have passed on Mustafar--

A loud crack echoes around the training room as my body meets one of the duracrete support pillars after being slammed across the room... Without a moment passing, I slide down and land on the balls of my feet supporting myself with the pads of my fingers, and regrip my lightsabers.... I sprint into a charge and using the force launch myself in the air, at the peak of my trajectory I hammer down with both weapons, only to be met with a half hearted block...

I tuck and flip backward over Vader and we circle around one another yet again... He proceeds with a heavy and furious attack pushing me to reverse, ‘Juyo demands you utilize the emotions your opponent is feeling’. He whips around with a wild intensity and nearly catches me off guard, I cross my lightsabers to absorb the strike. Feverishly Inhaling I reach out through the force to touch the anger and discomfort being expelled through the Sith, upon finding it I mentally shrink back... ‘Embrace what you seek..”

Within that mind frame, I feel almost first hand the betrayal and raging power of my master across from me... The Force is so strong with his caustic energy my body reacts with thrashing out in an incredulous movement of attack. Every offensive push is halted by a simple gesture to shut it down. I huff in frustration... “Let your anger fuel you!” he chides.

I close my eyes and think to all the travesties that took place since the end of the clone wars... The extinguishing of all the Force users I could sense in the galaxy, anger at whatever forced Anakin into that bulky and brutish suit.... Disbelief that it could have happened at all...which turns to self-resentment for departing the Order.

With that I shift my gaze up, when he realizes I turn these volatile emotions to a mournful calm, I am met with a fury of black and red standing tall over me as I am returned to the cold, hard ground.

“YOU ARE STRONGER THAN THIS...” he shouts, brazenly I hook my legs around his calves and pull forward, hard, knocking Vader off of his feet as he crashes down to the floor... ‘not such the behemoth now’ I snort mentally... Before his gloved hands can deliver a response I roll up and off the floor clasping my lightsabers to my belt...

Quicker than I thought possible for him to move, I feel an inhuman grip around my ankle yanking me back down in one foul swoop. Another unworldly bash rings through my montrals from the collision of my head meeting the duracrete... disoriented, my vision’s doubling, I can barely feel Vader’s presence engulfing me whole until I’m pressed into the floor.. His artificial breathing only intensifies the pain pounding inside my skull.

 

Vader POV:

She is becoming more attuned to honing in on others emotions, but her fastidious reflex of clinging to the Jedi grows old. Mentally I have scorched her, raked her brain for anything to tear apart what she holds so dear. I’ve berated her, thrust the anguish of Sith teachings of suffering onto her... Her resilience is most troublesome... every day she comes back with an attempt to dive deeper into the Dark Side only to tousle and reach a stalemate with its will for her.

Now, as I have her pinned to the sparring floor, half cognizant and perspiring pain, all she projects is remorse... focused on one singular event; turning her back to me on the steps of the Jedi Temple many cycles ago.

I have struck her down again and again relentlessly to force her to find the anger within herself, to no avail... Her eyes flutter beneath my mask, “Ana----M-Master...”she mumbles, not quite incoherently... Ah she is devastatingly vulnerable, I reach up a mechanical hand to her face to wipe aside a stray tear. My hand comes down slowly along the side of her lek.

The gesture causes her to regain a short-lived alertness, her eyes widen and heart rate liven... mental shields have been dropped and through the force, I feel her urging me on. Unsure, I repeat the motion, starting from her temple I graze slower and more purposefully this time down to the tip of her lek. With this, she expels a hushed whimper... Her mid-back lifts forward ever so slightly...

And then...Passion bursts out in an all-encompassing longing through Ahsoka... I’m caught off guard, passion is a pure expression of the Dark Side but I haven’t come into contact with emotion of this caliber before not in this context. Her eyes pull open with the same conclusion I’ve just come to... Without missing a beat the synth leather of my gloves find their way to her waist and she releases a heavy breath...

Feeling the warmth of her skin beneath her clothing intoxicates my senses, I shift my hands upward greedily seeking as much contact with her body as possible... Keeping one positioned for an anchor as the other migrates up her sides, I press across her shoulder and collarbone her breathing quickens and pupils dilate. My hand pauses to cusp and massage her breasts one at a time then test her nerves as I trail both hands down the taught orange skin of her abdomen. Muscles clench beneath my touch as she focuses on making eye contact while rotating her hips upwards.

The force intolerably burns around us cracking away at whatever resolve had been there to keep us checked in line... in breathless recognition she sputters my name.. “Vader.....” and at that within me, a forgotten need soars.

 

Ahsoka POV:

  
An undeniable sensation rages through me... _this can’t be, it is._.. The darkness consumes me but gives me just enough control not to drown in it. Fired by attachment, instead of being distracted I’m able to absorb these powerful emotions. Mentally I transmit to him 'navigating this intensity is perilous'.

Vader’s mental shields are lowered in astonishment to how the force buzzes through me, I am met with a reassurance of approval and fascination... I lean my head into the crook of his armored neck and a cybernetic hand reaches down lower teasingly passing over my sensitive area and firmly stroking my inner thigh down and back up again.

There is so much exchanged between us, when he slips his hand up under my tunic and then down inside the waistband of my pants I lose my breath...

Slowly I feel cold metallic fingers circle around my opening, exploring for a moment then suddenly sliding into me...I let out a flushed moan and he pulls back and enters again going deeper each time... A feral heat takes me over and through our shared bond I use the Force to seek him out touching and caressing him all over, rampaging as I go.

Unrecognizable sounds attempt to make it past his respirator, his response is to quicken his movements now applying more pressure to the posterior side of my sex with the tips of his mechanical fingers. I am doing my best to control myself but the Force feels as if it's bottling up inside me as I lose control of a few gasps. Thumb moving upward the crescendo brings on a climax that makes me squirm.

Thankfully he still has me pinned down beneath him still and I am made to revel in the ecstasy of the orgasm...

After the fire of our intimacy subsidies, we’re still on the floor of the training room. A realization that I am in a very familiar presence, but one not of a Sith strikes me... I feel Anakin beside me, confused I look towards him... dark optical lenses reflect back now golden irises. Karkinggreat...

“Does this place new meaning for the phrase seduced to the dark side?” I boldly remark... I am met with a jovial reaction, ‘I wasn’t prepared for your attachment and loss over your Jedi Master to push you so willingly to the Dark Side..’ he absently states through our bond.

The jumbled entwinement of heavy armor and orange limbs comes undone as we both rise to stand... I close the space between us in an embrace around his middle. Confusion passes as he cautiously brings a heavy arm around my back. Standing like this for a moment he breaks off and turns straightening himself out, I follow suit. We walk in unison out of the sparring facilities and up to the hallway where our respective wings are located...

He tartly mentions, “You’ve made much progress today Ahsoka Tano.” I bow my head and before I can respond he has left and made it halfway down the corridor. I find my way toward my own quarters and once I latch the door behind me closed, a long sigh I didn’t know I was holding in departs my lips... _Anakin... He’s still alive, and more present than I had ever considered..._

What if Vader and Anakin exist in the same space, I find myself frowning... So now to pacify Vader and learn the enhanced abilities of the Sith through him, but I must strengthen my ties to Anakin and build up his confidence in the galaxy again... Sidious may have plans for total domination but not if I can help it, I will reignite the light within his apprentice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback and considerations are greatly appreciated. I have a long sketch for where I want this to go, I'm ashamed to say this was much easier to write than to post. Thanks for reading!


	3. Stuck in the Middle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka learns of all the torment her master has undergone. Her eyes are opened to the 'why' behind his turn and can feel for the first time all the hurt the universe has inflicted upon Vader. Will this clarity brush her closer to the Dark Side or will her Jedi resolve pull through?

**Chapter 3**

 

Ahsoka POV:

After a dreamless sleep, I’m woken by Vader summoning me telepathically... Beside the bed on a dresser are a folded change of clothes. It seems that after proving myself yesterday Vader believes I should begin looking the part... wrestling out of the sheets I move to put on the new outfit.

Clad in all black, not surprising... Long onyx leggings sport reinforced synth leather wrapping around the knee circling up around my thigh to the waist of the pants, a dark fitted long sleeve shirt is bound to my abdomen with the addition of muscularly designed alloyed armor... With similarly styled armor for my forearms. Over that is a loose-fitting tunic of woven black textile, with a cut out for my head and arms, the outerwear much resembles Jedi robes...Stepping into the fresher for a view of myself through the mirror, I’m speechless... _I’ve never fashioned anything so conservative in my life..._ The stripes of my lekku darken at the thought of what occurred during our sparr... What’s this all about Skyguy..

Leaving the enormity of my quarters, I venture down the hallway reaching out for Vader’s presence, I am guided by the force to a lower level of the complex. Beneath the main hallway is a relatively empty space that is kept very cool despite the location being closest to the volcanic terrain. There are wide support pillars that measure every three meters but the space in between them is wide open to the elements...

Vader sits comfortably on what appears to be an elevated meditation pad. An identical seat sits just beside him. I move confidently as I approach and take a meditative position as well. “The new clothes suit you well.” He comments without moving. I retort, “They feel stuffy and restrictive if you’d ask me.” With that he glares not only through his mask but mentally, “You draw enough attention as is, modesty does have its merits, Snips.”

With that I shift to look forward out over the ledge of the duracrete platform, the scene that awaits me is grim and foreboding. Energy spewing out from the hot magma eruptions across the black hills. “Being outside is a refreshing change, what’s the occasion?” I banter. Through our bond I’m requested to lower my shields, tentatively I oblige. Vader thinks ‘When is the last time you’ve engaged in joint mediation?’... _seeing as you’ve been hunting down all the remaining Jedi_.... ‘A while’ I mentally forfeit.

 

Vader’s POV:

I take her back to the scene on Tatooine after I had finally reached my mother in the sand people’s camp. Life slipping out of my hands, Ahsoka is silenced by the sorrow. I share with her the pain and devastation of the memory so fully it could be felt as if it was her own mother dying in her embrace. She searches for me, for clarity in the vision... The events that take place immediately after are brutal and merciless, Ahsoka cries out to me over the carnage and action of me cutting down the entire clan of Tusken Raiders...

Between scenes of the vision, Ahsoka stands adjacent to me, she yells at me begging ‘how could you do such a thing’ the weight of this truth about her master Skywalker makes her fall to her knees grasping at my tunics...

The following imagery is one all too familiar, nightmares of Padme dying in childbirth... In this portion Ahsoka is just as worried as I am, her eyes and mind scouring for a solution. Temporarily disabled with the anxiety we’re then both seated next to the once Chancellor Palpatine, who goes on speaking half-truths about cheating death and offers false promises for protecting Padme. She looks back to me now with deeper set guilt in her eyes, then shifts them down and away...

Next, we’re standing in the wake of the massacre in the temple... just blacking back in from the dark side’s possession over me, Palpatine helped lead me to realize it was necessary so I engaged the power of the Force to do what I could not.. Younglings laid scattered around the chamber. A mix of pure rage and uncontrollable disbelief is emitted through her, 'Anakin, they adored you, wanted to be just like you...' Shaking her head she forces her focus on what comes next...

Now on Mustafar, aghast and afraid of what this means, she experiences Padme’s betrayal. “Ani, You’re heading down a path I cannot follow!” tears swell up and pour out uncontrollably from my angel’s eyes. The ramp to her Nubian cruiser extends and the bright beaming light of the hull shows Obi-Wan descending onto the platform. Exasperated the past rendition of myself wildly exclaims “You brought him here to kill me.” in my anger without knowing what’s happening I have a force grip around her neck and she’s a meter off the ground “Let her go, Anakin.” Through the vision Ahsoka flips her whole being to face me, pleading... 'Please, this can’t be how it happens'.

Ahsoka is viewing the whole specter of the duel between myself and Obi-Wan. She paces around the scene and desperately screams to break the attention on the battle. Unable to look away her expression grows more concerned with each blow, “ANAKIN, MASTER... PLEASE!!!” A pang of doubt makes me feel as though I should bring this meditation to a halt... as a second spectator of this event I whisper 'Ahsoka this is the past, you cannot fix it.'

When she turns back around to the fight she feels the force warn of the seismic shift to come. “Anakin, it’s over. I have the high ground.” Obi-Wan pleads. 'Oh Sith hells...' Ahsoka cries out...  
“You underestimate my power!” and the following movements occur rapidly after one another. Using the force I jump up in an attempt to inundate the Jedi master, but end up hitting the volcanic bank with limbs severed off, sliding closer towards the magma flow. Ahsoka rushes over to help the past-tense version of me, reaching out she can not grab my body to pull me up only hear Kenobi’s words of angst and disappointment, “You were supposed to be the chosen one, the one to bring balance to the Force not destroy it.” Ahsoka now with eyes fuming an incredible amber tint, faces her grandmaster teeth bared and hissing.

The scorching heat from the lava ignites my maimed body setting fire to my flesh. Ahsoka can’t do anything but crouch beside me in this vision sobbing, “You were my brother Anakin, I loved you!” Obi-Wan claims as he turns his back on me and walks over the ridge never looking back.

Ahsoka is the one to cease the meditation... bringing us both back to the present.

 

Ahsoka’s POV:

  
Wheezing in my distraught, I’m keeled over having fallen off the meditation mat. Anger fuming internally, I rasp “None of this would have happened if I would have stayed...” Tears stream down my face making delicate sounds when they patter on the duracrete floor. I am juxtaposed into an out of body numbness.

A firm hand rests on my shoulder until I’m able to regain some composure. “It is impossible to say what could have been, we are only faced with the decisions of the present,” Vader speaks with a kindness I only knew in Anakin. Through our bond I cringe with the acknowledgment ‘Obi-Wan left you to suffer, he left you to burn...’ Vader’s resolution includes ‘Obi-Wan will come to face his fate, it’s only a matter of time.’

I sit up and solemnly bend my head down again in a combination of shame and respect for Vader’s tenacity. “I’ve gained better understanding through this, but I will not kill inexorably as you have.” I will not take life without immediate necessity. He responds “Ahsoka, you must embrace using the force without holding back, there cannot be anything to blind you from accomplishing what it is you desire.”

 _Well if what I seek is bringing Anakin_ _back.._. I Shift my focus and look back to him “Teach me Master, I’m ready to embrace your wisdom.” We spent the rest of the morning and greater part of the afternoon meditating individually, Vader prodding and pushing me along some sort of algorithm. I learned that even as Darth Vader, I am supported and encouraged, sure with a little more stringency and less jaunty of an attitude, but still.

Anakin always prioritized the safety and well-being of those he cared for above all else, his loyalty to those in his fold was unrivaled. All he asked in return was fidelity. He turned in order to keep his love safe, tragically, it lead to her death. There was a darkness within my master even before he took on the title of Dark Lord of the Sith, that was the issue the council had found within him... he felt too deeply, reacted too daringly, embraced his emotions without thinking... _Maybe Vader is not a separate person_ but rather... _Vader is just an extension of Anakin_ _who has suppressed him back while coping with the loss of old times. Anakin has little left to live for, but Vader is still able to use his power towards a purpose._

For the remainder of our session, we center around countering emotions and how to utilize their force energy to our advantage in a completely psychological light. Clarity of mind in the heat of the moment is critical to staying in control while wielding the Dark Side, I’m explained. It is something Vader introspectively admits he has not always had a handle on. Anticipating your opponent's thoughts can give you foresight into their actions even before they know how they themselves will react.

Sith teachings reflect a lot of Jedi ideals I’m finding out... The major difference is that pain and suffering are embraced, viewed as strengthening. That and conviction through feeling strong emotions can lead to greater capabilities. Lastly, the Sith are more conceited in their reach for power where Jedi use it in the perusal of harmony. _But I’ve deemed even the last statement now as a matter of perspective. The more I learn the less I subscribe to one school of thought..._ I find myself questioning and arguing with both sides of the force along this theological division. Perhaps I can arrive at a middle ground of sorts, determining for myself what is the right practice and trusting my gut and the force to guide me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please give me some feedback! positive or negative.


	4. Pressure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader anticipates Sidious trying Ahsoka and so he sets out to prepare her. Ahsoka is relearning what it's like to be around her Master and how she can cope with certain aspects of living alongside him.

**Chapter 4**

 

Vader’s POV:

 _Adapting to being around_ _a force sensitive other than my master is, odd._ With Sidious every move is calculated, in him, I can feel the force bend inorganically. His presence alone can raise the hairs of the most tenured of imperial commanders, and his maleficent grin rips through the core of those who have the privilege of serving him.

In contrast, the apprentice brings warmth to every space she enters. Albeit since Dagobah her force presence is far less blinding, it remains comfortably soothing and inspiring but with a more palatable edge of rawness. She has been weighed by the force and found to be on a righteous path for she boasts a subtle fullness. This abundance of the living force embodied within her overflows and reaches out to me constantly, if not for any particular reason other than to confirm I am still here.

Ahsoka’s force energy feels like an ebbing tide, sweeping back and forth to a hypnotic rhythm. I find her presence every day pulsing between the light and the dark, her inner dilemma is captivating. Undeniably her presence is more than tolerable. _Finally, she is starting to see the truth of the Jedi deception... If only the others had realized it too._

 

Ahsoka’s POV:

Days pass and we continue to adapt to old tendencies and grow around new ones. Vader still uses taking apart and reassembling mechanical objects and modifying electronics as a way to take out his stress and calm his thoughts, but less for thrills nowadays. Reading through endless reports and updates was a responsibility Anakin would evade or put off at all costs, funny now that Vader spends several hours a night getting caught up to speed on projects and missions of the empire, neck bent and holopad in hand. One unmistakable trait that has crossed over is his pacing, most notedly when on some long rant about a topic he finds irksome.

He planned many objectives for our days training together but there were occasions it felt as though he made a point for me to remain just in his presence. These periods were often consumed with silence and limited interaction, but our growing ease around one another felt restorative in the surrounding force.

As the holonet figure for the Empire’s might, Vader sure seems to assume he has chosen the righteous path. I don’t know what delusions Palpatine had entwined into his psyche, but for all intents and purposes, Vader believes they are the good guys. _Oh, Anakin... where did you go astray?_

 

Vader’s POV:  
It occurs to me that in time my master will learn of the Ahsoka’s existence. Her mental shields are fortified but would falter against Sidious’ onslaught. The concept of her fruitfulness, alongside my endorsement for her turn, should spare her life. However, I worry arrogance and hate could make her react in a way he would find most unsuitable. Her stature must be placid and unmovable should they meet, he will test her allegiance. Since her acquaintance with the Dark Side Ahsoka has a newfound temper that is as tame as a Rancor, in addition, her lack of a verbal filter proves a compromising combination.

In preparation, I set out to bait her. Mind games are Sidious’ specialty, and I detest engaging in them, though she must be readied. Sitting across from me in an armchair inside the foyer of my chambers, she is brushing up on the abbreviated 'history' of the Galactic Empire and she must feel my gaze on her as she asks, “Master, you seem restless, do you want to go spar?”

 _Without sympathy_ , I repeat as a mantra in my head. I incite, “Ahsoka you shouldn’t have left...” her eyes narrow sharply I sense something rouse within her, her mind twitches into a defensive hurt position. Backing her emotionally into a corner I press onward, “Do you consider what an alternate reality we would be in if you hadn’t? So much of this could have been prevented, all the death and suffering... Your precious order might have been saved had you stayed.” This is all untrue, but to gouge a reaction I lean into the harshness.

The change in her reaction is instantaneous, the prodding works. Furiously she jumps up fists balled, tartly spitting out,” You know better than anyone the faults of the council, but when did that permit the betrayal of everyone you considered family! In your preposterous arrogance did you forget the life you came from... Wallow in your own inner torment as you please but do not pin your actions on me, Darth!” I’m left astounded as to how all the destruction and emptiness she has shared through our bond has not corrupted her over the last half decade and how she has nevertheless developed into such a beautiful creature, her allure is just manageable. Chest heaving dramatically the increase of oxygen can only further fuel her vivacious anger, and I’m snapped out of my stupor.

By the Force I have her on her knees before me, neck restrained just a few centimeters from the ground... holding her there I push down with the force making the humiliating posture that much less comfortable. “My master will soon learn that you live, and when you are brought before him you must hold your tongue, he will push as much as you give him but his capacity for mercy is slim.” Adding even greater pressure onto her back I hear her bones creaking and she expels a cry in pain. I release the weight being toppled down on her, and she quietly rises, her eyes despisingly burn through the optical screens of my mask as she fumes off to her own chambers.

 

Ahsoka POV:

Once in my own space, I unclench my hands and it occurs to me how petulant I’m acting. Balance seems so out of reach when being jostled back and forth between the light and dark. So many intense feelings reside in Vader, I’m unsure whether his are starting to seep into my own, or if prolonged exposure to my master is awakening a truth that has been stifled down far inside me.

His accusation may not be so wild a thought. It is a place of hurt that I regularly dwell on... In hopes of cleansing myself of these near-impossible concepts, I head into the fresher. Drawing on the shower I strip down out of the bulk of my wardrobe and my clothes are tossed aside forming a pile. Stepping in I turn the heat to just below scalding, the excessive heat makes my mental anguish seem far away and less problematic. I close my eyes and use the now wet slate wall for support as I let the moisture wash over me.

Remorsefully I send over our bond, ‘I am sore over the idea that I could have been there for you. Through all of it, I would have talked you down and helped you see Master... I want nothing more than to time-jump back to the temple steps and rewind the motion of leaving. Blast the Jedi I should have come back for you...’

I wasn’t expecting a reply... And I’m convinced there won’t be one as an immeasurable amount of time passes by, I figure he is allowing me to cope through venting. I can feel a heavy presence materializing behind me, then a kiss is planted on the crook of my neck and my eyes soften. Eyes wandering to the reflection of the glass door, I observe I’m alone in the shower... the same sensation trickles up to my jawline and down over my shoulders, reflexively I hum.

By means of the force I’m wrapped in his presence, I revel in the experience... curling into it with my head. What feels like a set of hands rest on my shoulders and soothingly trace around their structure down my back muscles. Tenderly the force is manipulating my muscles into a massage. Next, I feel a tugging on my nipples and again the migration of what seems like lips migrate down my sternum, over my ribs and stomach and down venturing between my thighs.

 

Vader POV:

I do not want her to revert back to self-wallowing but in the best of circumstances, mental scarring will be the least severe outcome by being brought before Sidious. He commands such power yet materializes Sith teachings onto me sparingly... As is the strategy tied deep into millennia of Sith reign. The rule of two, one to wield power the other to crave it. The idea of Ahsoka being taken under my tutelage will not sit with my master.

Pleasure has proven to grab her attention before. I seek her out through the force and because our bond has grown so much stronger, the lag between will and action are instantaneous. I am there behind her in the fresher... perhaps this is a mistake. I’m dumbfounded by her figure and when she senses me she sweeps her head slightly offering up a coy smile. Manipulating the force it fuels every touch and caress, I am moving slowly over her skin resting lips on her skin not only through the action of the force but mentally as well.

Soon my carnal desires are emancipated as the force paints the passion of intimacy across Ahsoka’s sex. The force is curling, licking, and slipping through her labia, Ahsoka tilts her head back as she sends her ecstasy back to me over our connection and a wave of heat crashes over me. This does nothing to bring us back down, I press further addressing her heightened need and focusing my control over the force to bring her, and therefore us, to our apex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love to hear feedback!


	5. Sorrow is for the Living

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader is called away, and Ahsoka familiarizes herself with a history of the Sith and greater galaxy.  
> Obedience is tested, and repercussions abound far and wide.  
> Ahsoka learns just how critical her position is, thanks to an unexpected visit.

** Chapter 5 **

 

Ahsoka POV:

  
We are going over lightsaber technique and practice again Vader is incessant that I need to be ready to disable and maim future opponents not just deflect and defend against them. Today he chose to use training droids so he can better analyze my movements and alter my tendencies. He has a propensity to give me more than I can handle with the intent that what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.

There are at least a dozen training droids set to an insane level of challenge all swarming around me. Shooting plasma bolts in a flurry, I am practically dancing to keep pace and eyes on all of them. I take a two out in a sweeping motion by transitioning my legs and arms to roundhouse about the room lightsabers humming as the two droids drop to the mat neatly bisected.

I close my eyes briefly to feel as to the whereabouts of the remaining targets. Before I know it there is a warning spoken through the Force to me as I react to Vader's surprise charge with a block of a lightsaber. I time it perfectly so that with a hefty shove sending Vader back, I move the position of his ignited lightsaber through another training droid and its movement immediately ceases.

I am about to disable two more as they close in firing shots when Vader steps out of the training room to answer an incoming message on his comlink, instead, I pound them to opposite duracrete walls smashing their circuitry as the fall limply into heaps of metal. The others halt and return back to their suspended racks for time not in use.

Something has come up, and I can’t imagine the importance of it Vader hasn’t received any transmissions on his comlink since we left Dagobah. _Stars, has it really been longer than a standard month?_

Standing still in the training room amplifies the feeling of heat escaping my pores. I motion to wipe away the sweat off my brow, grinning at my master’s trick of engaging when I wasn’t paying attention... ‘You always found a way to keep me on my toes Skyguy’ I mentally muse.

 

Vader’s POV:

As the training room doors slide together after I pass through, I silence the beeping on my comlink as I accept the incoming holoprojection. I am met with a picture of my Master and implicitly kneel before him. “Rise Lord Vader... have you sensed a stirring in the force?” the blue-streaked image announces. “Yes, but I cannot establish what it means or its origin.” I vaguely respond.

There is a moment of silence and I can feel Sidious prying into my mind’s eye heartlessly. My shields are up but offer enough up to him so his suspicions will be quelled. What they really cover is the deeper truth so that I can protect the apprentice for a while longer. After he comes up pacified for the time being, he continues, “In time this shift will come before us, for now I have need of your abilities.” I close my eyes gently allowing some of the burden of mental pillaging to be released into the force. I ask in the dutiful way of the student, “ What is thy bidding, my Master?”

The holo message cuts out and I am to make preparations for this venture. Identify the potential for khyber crystal mining on a mid-rim planet. This is a task that anyone of the imperial commanders could take on themselves. _Why send me?_ Perhaps he is tightening his grasp on me because I have been off Coruscant and away from him for so long.

I enter the training room again, it is without question she will insist on accompanying me.

 

Ahsoka’s POV:

  
So you do report to someone after all... The emotion rolling off Vader was of skepticism and irritation. “You’ve been in better moods, what’s happened?” I inquire. His helmet turns sharply to address me while his stance remains still and solid, ‘Sidious is tasking me to travel to Eadu to determine the possibility of mining resources.’ he admits through our connection.

Still chagrined he looks to me, wanting to say something more but restraining himself. “What is on Eadu that he sends his second instead of one of the many other imperial officers who can handle this” I point out. Vader seems to have already posed the same question to himself, perhaps he is testing his loyalty. Across our bond I nudge, ‘It could be a trap...’.

“I shall see to it that whatever awaits in the system will be dealt with” he states. I attempt to remain unmoved but my body language gives me up as I can’t help a deflated look. My shoulders drop and I turn my eyes away from him. We had just gotten used to being around each other, now I don’t want to be apart. He must sense this for he motions forward to me meeting me in the middle, as I am already approaching towards him. I mutter “When do you leave?” but I know his ship is already being prepared.

 

Vader’s POV:

  
I outstretch a mental pleading to her, one that solicits she not press further. If this is a test of Sidious a report sent in by another officer or spy that I’m being accompanied by a female Togruta of approximately 20 standard years would be disastrous. Ahsoka understands even if she doesn’t like it.

Again she is the one to come closer and negate the intimate distance between us. Closing her arms around me she envelops herself around my middle. This time I allow myself to relax into her, and she passes through to me a blend of worry and tenderness ‘please be careful’ she urges as she releases me.

I set off to the hangar and board the ST 321, with engines warmed up and coordinates being entered I reprimand myself over my attachment to the apprentice... As I mule over our bond, the transport lifts off and flees the fortress. “She is not a weakness, she is a strength” I admonish.

* * *

 

Ahsoka’s POV:

With ample time on my hands, I find myself drawn into holo banks of data and history in the holo library. I will not understand how many Sith recordings survived 900 years of Jedi rule. I have begun the dive deep into the forgotten world of the old republic, of the Sith species and their lineage.

Natural force wielders to begin with, they maintained a propensity for Dark Side of the force without much outside influence. That was until humans migrated to their homeworld of Korriban. After many battles and fighting at their first crossing, the humans began to be absorbed into the Sith culture, by means of taking up roles within the structure of order and melting into the bloodline themselves through encouraged inter-species unions.

In the era not long after the Mandalorian wars, I did learn of a Jedi who had been corrupted and turned to the Dark Side but had his memories revoked by the Jedi Council of the old republic and came back to the order. Although there seems to be incomplete information as to his fate at least in this collection of articles I have access to.

I learn the origin of the rule of two comes from one of the earliest Sith theological masters. This rule was so embedded into Sith practices that only two could enter a Sith temple together as one. This was the principle that enabled the sith to remain under the radar for nearly a millennia, plotting their takeover and passing down all this knowledge. However, it seems that before galactic battles of lore there were thousands of Sith. They lived in a civilized culture that sported much promise and opportunity for the average citizen. Through the political and military offices, there were always mutinies and take-overs but it appeared that the greater society of the galaxy would continue on regardless of who took charge.

I take a step back for a moment to realize that there are many parallels between the functioning of the Old Republic and the recently terminated Republic. Or at least how those who attain power cannot keep it forever. I return to the idea that those who cannot help themselves are often the first to be taken advantage of in these changes in rule. For the people in systems that were enslaved and put into labor camps or forced to work without pay seemed to be the ones who were already suffering from fighting in the Clone Wars.

Force, it doesn’t matter who sits in a throne or even in the Senate what matters is the people who have a stake in the decisions. A failure in Anakin’s eyes was that the Republic Senate was too slow and cumbersome to make change occur fast enough. Perhaps there is a potential to not only guide Vader to be a force for those who need help and protection but maybe there is a way we can weave in aide to people of various systems. I know on Raada the imperial occupation was hard for the people to be subjugated to, but maybe just maybe if there was less bureaucracy between governors and Moffs that it wouldn’t have ended in rebellion the people would self-govern. What if there is a way to supply the empire with what it needs but also ensure the compliance of its subjects.

Checking my chrono, I realize that I haven’t slept in days... conceivably keeping my mind busy so I don’t dwell on my Master's absence. I shut down the holo terminal, after downloading saved readings onto a holopad for more leisurely review. I return to my quarters set the holopad down on a table and make my way to the bedchamber. I fall into bed nestle underneath the sheets, and as soon as I’m settled I’m greeted by sleep.

 

Vader’s POV:

I’m glad Ahsoka did not join me on this mission. Eadu is a cold and barren planet, and she would be infuriated to learn the empire seeks to mine Khyber Crystals from this planet's interior. Illum has already begun to wane in Khyber retrieval, and before it is stripped completely Eadu could offer some relief for the poor planet.

There are executor class ships in nearby systems with supplies in tow to begin building extraction bases and refueling bays across the planet, but not until I give the go ahead.  
Once the craft is landed I sense through the force that others are here for an intent similar to my own, always my guard is up but now it’s even heightened due to the sensation in the Force.

A unit of stormtroopers are with me for this menial assignment and I order them to do a physical and readout sweep of the area. In the meantime, I enter a semi-meditative state reaching out to locate the crystal seekers. I am answered with force presences that have halted action as to remain unseen. I sense two beings one sentient the other not. I narrow in to find a terrified young girl who upon further evaluation is holding the bridle of a nerf.

I’m broken out of my trance with a stormtrooper captain reporting, “Lord Vader, we’ve picked up a thermal hot spot that would be appropriate to a handful of life forms 10 clicks westward.” Taking in the confirmation of proximity I ask, “Where is the nearest settlement on this planet?” Looking back down to his datapad the captain replies, “It’s a day to two-day ride on nerf-back”.

As I back away I motion for the captain to walk beside me. Making my way towards the closest snowspeeder, I order his team to spread out and run diagnostics on Khyber deposits within the ice and rock formations. Straddling the speeder I take off in the direction of the girl.

When I arrive I can smell her location as quick as sense it. I'm doubtless her people are very interconnected with Nerf herding and she doesn’t know anything else. Moving around a large ice pack I call out to her, “I know you are there, why are you hiding?” She slowly clamors around the side I’m approaching, making herself half hidden within the shaggy fur of the animal.  
“My father sent me out to find a crystal... He told me to stay out of view of any off-worlders.” she timidly reveals. I take a moment to pry into her thoughts, she is unsure of what to do, the girl I reason can be no more than 10 years of age. “How did you know where I was?” she asks. “I sensed you, what did your father tell you the crystal was for?” I attempt to get her to divulge.

Offering up too much she excitedly responds, “Really?? I sensed you too... are you special like me?” _Kark..._ The facial muscles beneath mask run slack and it dawns on me this is what I was sent to take care of... this force sensitive child. My head drops down as she moves closer hoofed beast in tow. I am mentally berating my master, _how many more innocents must be destroyed for the good of the Empire._

She is standing right before me, as bold and unafraid a child as my days on Tatooine. Looking up at me she smiles, and claims, “You feel weary, I can take you to my village for a place to rest. The people would all offer you nerf-stew, it's a delicacy among the southern villages.” I am paralyzed by her goodness. I nod in dull agreement, as she passes forward in front of me I silently remove my lightsaber hilt from my belt and instantaneously ignite it as I come across her neck. The girl drops with a soft thud, her presence in the Force vanishes.

 

Ahsoka POV:

I wake up gasping as I feel a painful but brief slice through my neck... Grabbing to the base of my head I realize it was only a dream. Closing my eyes again I see a storming planet of ice rock and sleet in front of me and all too familiar person in the force very close behind, and then nothing. I leave the bed and make it to a small kitchen stationed on the other side of the living quarters. Putting on a hot carafe of water to make myself a tea, heavy with the sleep-inducing herbs. As I turn around to grab a mug I nearly jump.

Standing before me is Padme... I shake my head in disbelief. It can’t be, “Are you really here?” I just about cry out. She only offers a small smile in return. I fall to the floor and she moves down to join me back leaning on the same side of the counter as mine, we are shoulder to shoulder. Offering some solace, she finally speaks “Ahsoka, the force is willing me to reach out to you.”

I look up at her now with salty water pooling in my eyes. She gestures for me to lean into her, holding and supporting me up she coddles me into a hug. “I’ve.. missed... you... so much... Padme...” I burst out between sobs. “I know Ahsoka, I’ve missed you as well. But, I need you to listen to me... There is still good in him Ahsoka, you have already felt it, and from afar I can see how much inner change you are bringing about in him. But you need to be what I couldn’t for him. He needs you Ahsoka you mustn't forget that it’s not too late for him to change. But he can’t do it without you.” As I’m taking this all in I bring my stare up to her face and past it to what she is saying... “Padme, I’m not like-don’t ask me to-I can’t... replace you.” I trail off...

She kindly wipes away the trails of my tears. “Perhaps not replace, yet you're capable of doing what I could not. That is, love him through his choices, see Anakin even in Vader...” My mouth is agape and my eyes twitch irregularly as to what she is saying. “Ahsoka you must continue to walk this path... It will not become any easier, but you mustn't lose hope.” We stay like this for what feels like an eternity until my eyes start to feel heavy again and once more lose myself to sleep.


	6. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka and Vader grow more intimately, strength is afforded to those in times of need.

** Chapter 6 **

Vader POV:

The reports the troopers bring in front of me are affirmative. Not as rich a supply as seen on other sacred planets but nevertheless a substantial amount. I forward the data to the awaiting captains who were hung up on the order to begin extracting. Soon a large imperial presence will begin setting up operations.

I turn around to begin making my way back onto my ship, when a lower ranking officer halts my path to follow up on the lifeforms nervously breasting out whether or not his command should take action... his sentence is cut off halfway as I strike a force grip around his neck pressure tightening so rapidly he falls to his knees and before I rip away the life of another being I find myself shoving him back making him topple over himself. Frantic gasps aided through the recirculation unit in the stormtrooper mask drift into the distance as I move through the loading ramp.

When I fall into the pilot's chair I’m forsaken with force visions of the young girl. What her life was like... the difficulties of growing up having to be different... What her family would experience at her loss of life... Who she could have become... Force, was there another way? Could have saved her to have her placed into the emperor's inquisitor program? She wouldn’t have posed a threat not without training by another force user anyways.

Sending out to Sidious through the force, ‘It is done, Master.’ Silence for a moment echoes through our bond until I can feel the icy smirk being transmitted by him, ‘Gooood, very goooood Vader. I was beginning to wonder if you had been questioning you allegiances... Another potential threat to peace has been extinguished.” Unable to form mental response I can only reinforce, “ I serve only you, my Master”.

 

* * *

 

Ahsoka POV:

I awake to the hum of engines approaching, I can tell by the changes in their sound they’re adjusting their output into a trajectory for a controlled landing. I bolt up, racing to the transparisteel windows that overlook the landing platform to see his ship complete its descent. Throwing on a cowl and a pair of drawstring pants I race down the stairwells, using the force to aid my speed... I reach the entryway of the docking bay that leads out to the pad which the T-4a shuttle sits.

Vader is just descending from the hull... and once his view locks onto me he freezes. I reach out through our force link to feel only emptiness and blackness. He approaches in my direction and continues pushing past me blatantly ignoring my welcome. I am taken back by his demeanor. Giving him a few meters I recoil and follow him back inside the fortress.

Once I make it up to the third tier which makes up the respective wings of our living quarters I can sense him more clearly... I step into his space and find him gazing out into the bubbling inferno of the outside planet. I cautiously approach treading very lightly. “I missed your company...” I admit.

He confides across our bond, ‘There was a child... a gifted child, and I was sent there to exterminate her.’ My heart sinks into my stomach, the dream I had was no dream at all. It was a force vision of events unfolding. My facial reaction cringes into an expression of pain and contempt. ‘I saw it, felt it happen..’ I tell him. With that he croons his head towards me, I can barely keep myself afloat through his flood of remorse and self-hatred.

How many more people will be made to suffer... “Vader, you have the control to help people like her. To help half the people in the galaxy be free from unfair oppression and domination by ‘higher status beings’.” His reply is soft and worn out, “How... Ahsoka, I cannot defy the commands of Sidious... “ I shift over to him our bodies close enough to feel each other's body heat. Over the force I exclaim ‘You may not need to, just help those you can a little at a time. You start by making choices, there is no need to deal in absolutes.”

 

Vader’s POV:

I want to believe her, desperately I do. But I have seen and caused so much hurt in this universe I fail to grasp any substance in her words. Her eyes vibrantly encourage me to see the world as she does, to find some sense of change or possibility to turn a new leaf. I come up empty. Her expression is undaunted by my mental drifting. I reach up to tilt her head up even further and my mechanical hand keeps her chin between my fingers angled towards me.

Her slim but determined hands climb up to mine and trace their way to the joint of my forearm and up my upper arm squeezing and caressing as she goes. I release her chin but she doesn’t follow, instead, she retraces her original path focusing additional attention to what’s not prosthetic. The sensation sparks the nerves along what remains of my arms. Feelings I had assumed I’d never experience again, believing I was condemned to only the sensation of agony.

I can feel my breath hitching and the respirator taking a long pause between cycles to adjust. The Dark Side is not enabling her to move past my actions, rather she is cleansing me with forgiveness. It is by her own will she is choosing to stand beside me, I dare not buy into her claim of not leaving a second time... but her sentiment appears to hold some merit.

She continues to seek contact over my arms and the synth leather portion of my chest following an invisible pattern. I revel in her touch, timidly she begins branching out to my shoulders and sides, slowing down to gauge my reaction. With a near-autonomous response, my hands find their way to her waist, resting there and enjoying her awareness of my grasp.

Ahsoka POV:

A front of desire pummels by defenses, heat spiking my blood I carry on with exploring Vader’s physical structure over his armor. ‘I want you out of this suit’ I mentally plead. He makes no movement, ‘You will not find your old master within...’ he rebuttals. With heavy lust filled eyes I shift my eyes over his form, ‘Perhaps you misheard me... I said I wanted you out of this suit.’

Behind me is the loud unmistakable noise of a pressure seal being engaged... my internal barometer can feel the shift as it occurs. My eyes widen at the speed of his consent, a small feverish smile plays across my lips. I slide the motion of my hands down now, I can feel the outline of his hips and then dragging one hand gently across his front I’m astounded to feel his shape.

Tracing the outline of his firmness and gently brushing my palm over him, I elicit a groan through Vader’s vocal aid. I fumble for a way to free his growing need. Finding a zipper mechanism to the side of his groin I tug down finding his fullness awaiting my touch. One gloved hand travels to the base of my neck gently gripping me there for support.

I lower myself in a position that is between a crouch and a kneel and begin stroking his length, his head arches backward and I am nuzzled in the force to continue the exploration. Quickening my pace I bring my lips to the tip of his member, parting them slightly as to test how this feels through the force to him.

Sensing how incredible the effect is, I part my lips wider and take his erection into my mouth. Slowly in a similar rhythm to my hands, I bob my head further down on him taking in more with each entry. Gaining greater confidence I decide to lick and run my tongue over his circumference and working my way up to his head. Vader’s face is slighted down to look at me his hand traces my facial marking as I bring him to ecstasy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do ya'll think so far? Am I staying remotely close to character?


	7. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryloth is in uprising, what's new. Vader allows Ahsoka to come along and try to get the Twi'leks to settle through talk. Torment ensues.

**Chapter 7**

Ahsoka’s POV:

I had taken up rest in the bed within Vader’s quarters. Though I’m not joined in my sleep, I fell into a deeper and more regenerative sleep being nearer my Master. An effervescent spirit plays on the horizon of my consciousness, rousing me delicately enough in my mind that I do not startle or wake too suddenly. I can tell attention is being solely focused on me stirring into a state of awareness...

When I open my pupils I am dismayed to be met with empty space through the bedchamber. I finally pull myself up into a leaning position resting on my elbows, a pod sitting opposite the bed unclasps itself allowing top and bottom to separate. A difference in pressure is dispersed in the form of seeping vapor escaping around the sides of the capsule. I hadn’t really considered its use until the two parts grow wide enough apart that a fully suited Vader steps out and into the space.

As he moves across the quarters I reactively rise out from under the blankets. Playfully strolling to where he halts I take the moment to feel for his force presence. Something is different within him, it’s as if he has experienced joy for the first time. I internally reflect that as the figure of Vader this may be an accurate assumption.

We’re only in this trance for a moment, he verbally states, “There is continued uprising against the imperial forces stationed on Ryloth, this constitutes a visit from a superior commander as the Moffs hasn’t done much to quell the disorder.” I close to blurt out, “I’m coming with you!” He turns his head in a deliberating fashion but gives no push back.

 

Vader’s POV:

Once on route to the system a corporal officer goes over with us the damage the Free Ryloth Movement has inflicted, tolling the number of military base bombings at 8 within the last 3 weeks. Once these bases are overrun the positions are used for shooting down incoming spacecraft that transport the high valued Spice crop native to Ryloth.

My first reaction is to take out the leaders of the movement. But Ahsoka hangs to the fact that whoever they take out will only be replaced by future fighters and that further oppression under the protectorate will only fuel the fire of the terrorist group. She brings up the Twi’lek resistance against the separatists and how unwilling the Twi’leks were to be forced to one side or another. She pleads with me to let her attempt to negotiate a trade arrangement or at least let the people of Ryloth to claim what they want in exchange for settlements.

Begrudgingly I concede. Only under the condition that if they do not cooperate they will be snuffed out. By the time we have come to this proxy we’re finalizing our descent. Making way to a communications personnel, Ahsoka reaches out to the terrorist group over a secure com-link channel with the proposition. Three of the members agree to meet with her to discuss.

We have records on the whole trio of members, Crost, Eshgo, and Faylin. In a valiant attempt made by Ahsoka of speaking reason with the guerrilla fighters over possible Spice trade agreements instead of the alternative being eradication, they stubbornly cling to their ideals.

Ahsoka POV:

I remark, “Your children will have little left to work with and live by if you continue this campaign. I’m offering a plan where native Twi’leks can take on positions within the ranks of the Empire to stand ground and allow reasonable negotiations to take place.” One of the Twi’leks stares at me for a long hard while, Faylin says, “I recognize her from a holonews source, from the days of the Clone Wars.... you are a Jedi!”

Without signs of giving anything away I state, “I am no Jedi....Please consider what I have said, your people have suffered much. You are a strong and proud race but do not let your braveness spend the lives of your comrades.”

_A decision is made amongst the three leaders, where the majority decides. The two choose to continue fighting and the one, taken back by Ahsoka’s effort to help spreads a message to many outposts and small villages that have yet to be overrun by off-world forces; “that there may be hope within the Empire’s influence taking the shape in the form of a capable Togruta. Maybe just maybe there could be an alternative to war. “_

_Unbeknownst to the Twi’lek who sympathized with Ahsoka, it’s spies that have kept this group afloat and allowed the movement to remain one step ahead of the curve. But these spies work both ways to keep their connections, in order to receive critical intel they often give away insider communications. Soon agents of the emperor receive word that there is a Togruta working alongside imperial forces on Ryloth, events check out to take place in line with Vader’s arrival._

Vader POV:

Back in the confines of the base Ahsoka and I await the decision of the leaders, but I sense the force pull and shift around Ahsoka in a way that screams to me that she must be protected. Over our mental connection I tell her that it isn’t safe to be on the planet any longer, she responds with ‘I can handle myself...’ But it’s not long before the station is being fired upon with laser cannons, and long-range missiles. The glass of the window panes shatter with the first structural hit and invite in black smoke throughout the deck of the station.

I don’t take long to lock onto Ahsoka through the infrared sensors in my mask optics. Chaos erupts throughout the base and I can feel over our bond the familiar ringing of the breach alarms piercing through her montrals, she moves to follow me out to the landing pad where the shuttle is waiting. She questions... “Did you feel the change in the Force too?” I opt not to reply.

Once launched and headed out into space, I give the command order to attack from orbit. Ahsoka moves to intercept the decision and I’m forced to paint the truth, that despite her altruistic actions they were ready and willing to sacrifice her life for their menial resistance. Reminding her that these people have always been subjugated to pillaging and slavery, promises made to them have been broken time and time again. Unfortunately for the Twi’leks it made them advertent to entering deals with various powers and today that power is the Empire.

Ahsoka turns to the viewport of the spacecraft mouth ajar but accepting some truth behind my statement. Across our bond she whispers an intent, ‘Not all the inhabitants, you can’t wipe out everyone...” Softly I answer back, ‘Only the compromised bases and the origin of the artillery fire will be affected.’

Seeing a barrage of light and explosions ignite across the surface of the planet from space was enough to churn her stomach leave her mind raw with the loss. After the last of the visible fires went out, she turned and made her way back to our adjoined quarters, posture giving way a heavy felt defeat.

Just as she left the bridge, my secure comm channel with Sidious sprang to life. “Yes, my Master...” A short-lived pause, “What is the status of the terrorist group on Ryloth?” Sidious inquired. “The station we were coordinating out of was under siege not long after our arrival, upon exiting the base an extra-planetary attack was launched on the known locations of the rebels.” Another extraneous interlude, “Ahhhhh, and what of this Togruta...”

Time itself froze, or so it feels that way in this moment. Silence grows deafening between our channel. “Come now, old friend... Did you think you could hide her presence from me forever?” Sidious quipped. I knew that any reasoning for withholding my actions from him would be futile. “I wanted to wait for a more opportune moment to bring her to your attention Master.” I’m just able to muster out. Sidious, in a corrupt and elusive tone commands, “Come to Coruscant my apprentice, it has been too long since we’ve been in each others company... and I am keen on reacquainting myself, with Anakin Skywalker’s padawan...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think!!!???


	8. Penance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader returns to Courascant with Ahsoka per Sidious' request...

Chapter 8 

Ahsoka’s POV: 

When I get to the space of the officer quarters, I step inside the lounge area of our shared rooms. My view passes over the set up of the desks and lounge furniture tracing the framing of the architecture of the ship and running along the stark bare walls. Mindlessly I gravitate towards the center of the space, as if by doing so I help center my racing mind. Lowering down to feel closer to the solidity of the floor I assume a meditative position with legs crossed, forearms resting on my knees, with the soles of my boots facing upward. 

When I clear my head I hear a flustered heartbeat... movement as if a stampede of wild beasts is taking suit. I can feel lighter more precise steps being taken close to the horde but I cannot tell if they are running from or tracking down the massive heavy presence. Releasing this notion into the force I inhale refocusing on the meaning of what I’m experiencing. It stands out to me as clear as a star’s last pulsing burst of energy before it collapses on itself, it’s not a matter of who is hunting who. The only thing that matters is the will of the Force, the nature of the force is that it never sides wholly with one entity. That there are moments of superb strength among the meek and lowly, but in that same regard, there are instances of weakness and exposure by the strong. Again I offer these thoughts back into the force freely, allowing them to pass through my mind as a vessel rather than a destination. 

My mind centers back on my internal metronome, my heart beating in a pattern that is regulated at a slow and forceful rate. I can feel blood circulating through my arteries supplying life-giving oxygen to the rest of my body... and, it is enough. I take a moment to ask something of the force, aside from one other instance it’s something I have refrained from doing since I learned of my connection to the Force. Singularly, the only other occasion was before I was assigned as a padawan, it was a request to be paired with a Master who I would maximize learning from, but also that would help me to become more familiar in the will of the Force. 

What I seek of it now is for a retreat from emotion. There is so much pain bottled up within my spirit, and within Vader that I feel there is no escape. Devastation is unfolding through the past, present, and future all around me. I feel helpless in the ocean of intensity. To have some resolve... some way to back away from the magnitude of pathos. 

The reprise of the Force, is to remain unchanging. But I am uplifted by a vision of myself I cannot determine if it is a version of myself that has yet to manifest in time or if this is the being that dwells within me as the Force knows me to be. Instead of escaping away from the discomfort this Ahsoka seems to find balance within it. She does not recite but somehow transcends to me, Flowing through all, there is balance. There is no peace without a passion to create. There is no passion without peace to guide. Knowledge stagnates without the strength to act. Power blinds without the serenity to see. There is freedom in life. There is purpose in death. The Force is all things and I am the Force.

I dwell on this mantra, looping it back in my mind's eye over and over again. I repeat it well enough I feel myself being engulfed, no, melding into the version of myself the Force answered me with. I am now embracing all the intensity of emotions I was just attempting to flee from and I realize in their acceptance and acknowledgment they’ve become apart of me, neither to hamper or propel just as to be and further my own existence. 

 

Vader’s POV:

The force’s urging me to shelter Ahsoka wasn’t from the Ryloth movement at all... It was from Sidious. Blast, there is no evading this trek to Coruscant. Anxiety floods my brain, and my life support unit is loudly reacting to the chemical differences being released in my body. She must be spared, Sidious has to realize what her allegiance could mean. 

I should have never allowed her to come along. In doing so I put her in jeopardy of being discovered. Though I’m doubtful she would have continued to be cooped up on Mustafar and willingly see me go to attend to the demands of the Empire and my Master. No... this would have happened eventually. This is just too soon, is she ready to face him? To withstand the consequences of my action? 

Following her path back to the living quarters aboard the transport, I sense a stillness within her even as I approach. Worryingly so, in all the while I’ve known her she has never been the sort to be settled and calm. Snips was always restless and moving from activity to activity keeping pace efficiently with what was coming her way next. 

I pause before entering the room. Ahsoka is deep in meditation, the force oscillating around her in an aura of vibrancy. Upon feeling my arrival her eyes open serenely. Speaking over our bond with a crispness I had yet to experience, ‘He knows now, that was the change in the force we felt it was Sidious learning of my existence...’ I meagerly send back ‘Yes, in his revelation he has sent for us to come to him on Coruscant.’ 

She tilts her montrals to the side as if considering, and then shuts her eyes again. “Have you not been preparing me for this encounter?” It seems the apprentice is keeping pace with my thoughts as quickly as I am developing them. “When dealing with a Sith Lord one is never truly ready,” I suggest. Humming in a manner of canniness she ascends from her seated position challenging my mind's path with her physical stance. 

Once I’ve approached closer she reaches out to touch me. The instant her skin contacts the material of my suit I’m pushed into a delusion of another place. She is transferring to me her understanding in her continued state of reflection in the Force. Within this shared Force vision I’m with her in an indescribable setting, not as though I couldn’t make out defining features in the land around us but that they didn’t concern us. What did matter was the power flowing between us in this state. Between us the Force appeared as if it were fully embodied in both of us, coming together in combination to forge tranquility amongst a multitude of uncertainty. 

I’m knocked unbalanced from the depletion of pain and hard emotions, I reel back from her touch. Her expression curves into a stunning smile as she declares “It will be alright Master.” 

Ahsoka’s POV: 

The travel through hyperspace flies by. Despite Ryloth being an outer rim world, we are entering the Coruscanti atmosphere in under 5 standard hours. Vader had found technical droids in need of repairs on this journey, I’m certain to quell his apprehension of bringing me before his Master. 

We are docking on a high clearance landing pad which is attached to an upper level of the Imperial Palace. Once the engines are cut, Vader pays a long look at me mentally pleading, ‘Please, follow my lead Ahsoka.’ I concur with a slight nod. Awaiting us on the platform is a mix of Imperial guards cloaked in a deep crimson red, their heads hidden behind a veil covering a helmet and a dozen or so elite class stormtroopers. As we descend the ramp the troopers stand at attention the captain recognizing him with a salute, “Lord Vader....the emperor has been awaiting your arrival, he is requesting you join him in the throne room.” We move jointly as I take a position at an angle just off to Vader’s right shoulder.

Upon entering the top level of the palace, I can see the entirety of the city planet’s skyline in a 360-degree view. It has been years since I’ve stepped foot on this planet... and now this building has been erected to stand tall above the rest of its inhabitants. Just as purposeful as a throne room, literally designed to belittle others beneath the one who sits atop it. 

We approach the monster before us. Chancellor, Palpatine, Emperor, Sidious... whatever alias he chooses I will despise this mad, power thirsty man. Halting a few meters before the Dark Lord’s elevated position. Vader takes a knee in a reverent bow, I do the same in tandem. “Rise...” Sidious starts. Vader chides for me to remain prostrate over our bond. He stands to his full height as the emperor continues, “My apprentice, I understand now why you would hide her away from me, her striking beauty is something to be coveted.” My lekku blanch half in embarrassment for being referred to like this and half in disgust. 

“Master, a vision in the Force showed me her strength in the Dark Side. It drove me to continue her teaching...” Vader began. “Teaching you say, I should hope that this is not in reference to the teachings a Master bestows on their, apprentice. You can’t have forgotten the rule of two Lord Vader...” 

In this moment I recite the ancient sith teaching while still kneeling. “Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it." Sidious’ focus shifts on me now, and with my head still respectfully bowed I proceed, “Lord Vader has influenced my conversion to the Dark Side yet I was not taken under his tutelage as apprentice, my Lord your fear is misplaced in your apprentice.” 

Sidious hesitates a moment and releases a harsh cackle... “You may rise Ahsoka Tano. Tell me then, how are you able to recite Sith pillars so fluidly?” I have surety in allowing the force to guide the choosing of my words, “I have been stationed with Lord Vader on Mustafar when he was called away I was left to the holo library of sith collections.” 

Sidious who had been leaning, nearly slouching back in the throne, now shifts upright and forward... “I remember presiding over your trial, after the Jedi Council turned you over to the Senate for the prosecution over the bombing at temple..... It appears that your decision to leave the order spared your life from the fate of betrayal by your clone comrades..... Was it not your Master Anakin Skywalker that cleared your name after the rest of Coruscant was hunting you down?” 

Unsure of how to respond or what tunnel we are headed down I turn my head to glance at Vader who has no answer for me... “How touching, the padawan remembers how much pain she caused her master by leaving....” I shift fully now coming down again to one knee to state my proposition to Sidious “My Lord, I wish to pledge myself and my services to you fully in order that I may serve you and the Empire.” 

Vader’s POV: 

Holding my breath, I can feel the static build in the room. Sidious calmly replies, “I. Think. Not....” and before I have time to endorse her, bright blue lighting is shooting out of his fingertips penetrating Ahsoka as she kneels.... Her body is ablaze with the cerulean force energy. Pain swells up within her and I can see burn marks being etched over her skin where the force lightning's path has traveled. 

Ahsoka is bent over herself on the floor writhing in pain she lets out an agonized scream. “Master... please stop!” I beseech. Sidious lets up only for a brief pause allowing Ahsoka to take a few staggered breaths, “She will pay for your mistake.” Again unrelenting he pounds down upon her with the full strength of the Force and she twitches helplessly on the ground face construed in a grimace. 

“She does not deserve to take my punishment, please Master.” Through our shared connection can feel Ahsoka fighting to stay conscious, her torture becomes my own. I must shield her from his rage. Stepping forward in front her “I beg of you...” He starts up again coursing electricity onto Ahsoka but this time I step to absorb his power. Once he realizes he is no longer attacking the limp Togruta but rather me he ceases. The force lightning sends the electronics in my suit to go haywire and their resulting effect is just shy of catastrophic. Sidious snarls as I maintain a crouched position. 

He moves out of his chair to stand tall over me, “I hope you severe your attachment to the ex-padawan, for your sake. It weakens you.....You may keep your pet, but understand who is leveraging who.” 

With whatever residual energy I have stored I get up to pick up the debilitated Ahsoka. Lifting her in my arms her neck falls backward over my arm causing her head tails to sway, but aside from that movement her body appears lifeless. I move slower than normal due to the damage inflicted on my suit, I exit the throne room and make way back to the shuttle. In the force I can feel her weakening... ‘Hang on, Ahsoka, hang on...’ I press through our link.


	9. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader attempts to heal Ahsoka, well as best as a Sith and some Bacta can.

**Chapter 9**

Vader’s POV:

  
The transfer shuttle is already coordinated to fly to the Gladiator-Class Star Destroyer the Suppressor. Which has been loitering in the outer atmosphere of Coruscant waiting to be reassigned to me I’m informed as I move to place Ahsoka onto a stability stretcher. “Speed is of the essence..” I state to the commanding captain and within milliseconds he disappears to the command center.

My breathing apparatus is struggling to function... I force the remaining utility of my lung tissue to take in oxygen, the air calcines the seared nerve endings as my trachea unwillingly reacts to my will. Again another breath now my bronchioles bray, this time, however, the pain gives me clarity. I Hail the bridge of the Suppressor on my commlink, “Prepare the Medical Bay immediately two incoming personnel requiring attention.”

Once we’ve set down in the hanger stormtroopers rush the shuttle and finding Ahsoka’s stretcher she is raced out to the Medical Wing, the Lieutenant hastily asks “Lord Vader, where is the other in need of attention?” I cannot fathom anything other than a deep rumbling growl. As I stand I stagger slightly as a component in the life support suit bleats out an error pang and it is made immediately clear that in addition to a medical team the ‘second injured’ will be needing an electrical droid team as well.

Upon entering the facility Ahsoka is undergoing a triage of medical droid tests being overseen by a chief medical officer. With an emulsified tone I instruct the team, “See to it that she is stabilized if she dies your fate will be the same.” Vision greying from lack of blood to my head I am pressed down onto a medical bed as I hear the differencing of the pressure seal within the medical bay and then the blatant light of the operating lights.

Once the unit controlling my iron lung is corrected I’m aware of all that is unraveling around me, anesthetics fail to keep grasp over me. My mask has been refitted and I turn my head in the direction of Ahsoka, currently, there are twice the amount of droids crowding over her than there are working on me. Not a promising sign. There is an electrical specialty droid looming over my chest console calibrating a critical system and attending to parts that need replacing. I shut my eyes again reaching out with the Force to feel for Ahsoka... Her spirit is still intact but the vitality of what a concrete being feels like is absent.

An indiscernible amount of time passes before I am capable of movement again, Inclining to sit up causing the electrical droid to rake its charged three prong grip over a section of wires that jolts me and I shove the droid to the far side of the room using the force. Attempting to move up again, I find I’m immobilized from the shock. Hurriedly the electrical droid undoes the damage and wraps up its tinkering.

When I finally rise from the table Ahsoka is no longer lying beside me. Sweeping the facility in search of her I see she has been transferred to a bacta tank, she is fully submerged in a green tube. Her physical presence is now noticeable in the force but hanging on by a thread it feels. Mentally I can sense her reaching out to me desperately, wandering through memories and reality distressing over what is real and what isn’t.

The chief medical leader approaches warily, “She has been submerged for five hours with slow improvement in condition” he describes further what they’ve done. “When is full recovery expected to be reached?” I quietly ask. In trepidation, his eyes enlarge and jaw unhinges... another beat passes, “My Lord.. the Togruta is currently fighting for survival... It will be several more hours to determine what level of healing is even possible.” I turn my view back to Ahsoka.

Reaching out to her through our bond I stand firm as an anchor to help quell her rampaging thoughts. She is confused as to what is happening, how she cannot feel the force physically. I urge her to relax that she needs to focus on regenerating her health. Her mental tenacity pierces through me in an attempt to view her situation as I perceive it looking up at her floating in the bacta. Leaning on me in disbelief over our bond I send her support to reach out and reconnect with her body.

I check my Chrono, the hours seem to have passed by much too quickly. Ahsoka has made minimal progress in terms of improved healing and by fretting so much has exhausted her mental strength as well. The medical officer returns to begin the draining process and resumes assessing her on the table. He moves his eyes up to level with mine, “The level of healing she requires is beyond not only my capabilities but that found in all of Imperial medicine...”

After a passing swell of rage, I send all personnel out of the wing. Kneeling beside Ahsoka I reach out to her through our connection, ‘Snips.. don’t give up.’ Her force presence stirs and in a voice of control replies ‘Force Healing is outside of the Empire’s talents...but not yours...’ My head shoots up at that statement. Even in the days of the Jedi Order I had never been a healer, wasn’t gifted with the skill as other sensitives were. Healing was an extreme manifestation of energy formed by the Light Side, the user had to be pure enough in intent to pull from the Force the ailment and pain out of others and through their own will accept and release the injury as their own.

I can’t lose her. I reach out to the Force and lean into the light, stating my intent I persuade it to abide in my attempt. Flaming my senses the light feels foreign after so much time spent away from it, dwelling in its opposite. Compelling it to wash over Ahsoka in her weakened state the force decidedly averts its influence to nearly skim off of her instead of penetrating to heal. Vexed I try again pressing less forcefully, but again the light chooses to divert its power rather than course through her damaged system.

 _The force speaks to me in a voice I’ve heard before but cannot place. You have grown accustomed to bending the force to your_ will, _after so long it seems you forget what intent is needed to use it as an ally instead of a slave. You must feel her ailment connect with her through touch and fully understand what is amiss as if you’re feeling it as your own injury and focus on repairing the damage. This will be the first time in a long time you will use the Force to bring peace rather than inflict pain. You must seek understanding instead of personal gain._

Ahsoka’s POV:

I am so disconnected from my physical body that I sense being moved, but only as another being moving on its own accord. Lifted up I’m brought closer to Vader’s person, his force presence holding me steady as he takes me to his private quarters aboard this unfamiliar ship.  
The space is much more condensed than I imagined but there is enough room for sparse furniture and a meditation chamber the later of which Vader is moving towards.

Tucking my slack head in closer to his form, he enters the pod and the top and bottom half move towards one another clasping together after him. Once seated, automated arms come down to remove his helmet, over our bond I am silenced by the direness of the situation and what it means for Vader going to this deep of lengths... I still cannot see, like the rest of my body, I still have no sway over my senses. By my montrals I can feel one set of arms retract and another pair descends removing portions of his armor and suit shell. All of this is taking place without having to shift my position in his arms.

A few precious moments pass as he remains still. In my mind’s eye, I am imagining him looking down upon me focusing all of his attention to what comes next. I am astounded at what I feel next, a cataclysmic shift within my master occurs to a presence I hadn’t felt so completely in years... _Anakin_... Here beside me in this space... Reaching out to me, searching within me for what’s gone amiss. In body and in mind he places a grip on my arm as to be further connected and share in the disarray.

I feel agonizing pain being lifted out of me physically, pain I hadn’t realized was in place until it was removed. Gasping aloud at the sensation a wave of dopamine and rich oxygen rush through me. I am reunited with the force in my physical being as every cell in every muscle rejoices at the reconcilement. Before plunging back into all of my senses, I reach out for Vader... He has taken on the burden of my pain allowing it to be felt throughout his whole existence and is calmly relieving it to the Force.

Daringly, I gradually open my eyes as I hear him slowly regaining his breath... I see his own eyes lower at seeing mine come to life. His face shows the story of what took place on Mustafar, severely scarred skin has been bleached by being out of daylight for years... His features are still intact aside from where ears once were... Relief crosses his expression and I can’t help but think how he can still look handsome after all his body and soul have endured... I lift my hand up to his face, palm grazing his cheek cupping the side of his head. Azure eyes look down into my own and I can’t repress a wanton grin.

Pulling myself closer to him only forces my body into a position where I’m now sitting up in his lap. I wince as my body sends me a reminder that I’m still plenty sore. He scoots me closer to his torso and inches closer toward me. I twist my head to allow our lips to meet for the first time. The Force engulfs us both in a fire so fierce we stay unmoved mouths resting on one another. In unison we inhale as our lips greedily search for each other, hungry for the sensation of being connected further my hands explore his frame tracing from the nape of his neck down over his shoulders and back and chest. Both of his prosthetic arms wrap around my trunk pulling me closer still almost as if a promise that I’m not going anywhere.

My normal attire has been stripped and I'm left wearing wrapped bandages to cover my breasts and pudenda. Chest heaving the wrap around my top is soon torn away and Vader’s mouth quickly descends to greet each nipple. Undoing the utility belt around his waist I’m able to push down the lower portion of his suit over his thighs and past the point of his legs where organic flesh meets alloyed metal replacements. Sitting on him still, I can feel his length press into me as I’m jostling with the synth leather.

I can’t help a whimper and he shifts my body again now so that I straddle him around the hips. With a strong grip under my back lekku he eggs me closer, kissing once more our tongues dance marvelously exploring one another’s mouth. Without breaking our kiss his mechanical hand rips away my medical undergarment, and his hands roam over my sides and rear before tenderly raising me up above him... My breath hitches.

Vader’s lips curl up into an unadulterated show of gusto... Hands placed delicately on either side of my waist I’m guided to the tip of his member. My eyes twitch at the unfamiliar sensation, through our bond he asks, ‘Do you not...’ Cutting him off mentally I reply, ‘I’ve never done this before...’ His eyes widen and his lips find mine again with an intensity even more potent than earlier. My own sex readying itself I dip down onto him, carnal instinct overcoming both of us I am lost to bliss and the rapture of the Force surrounding us in our union...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some overdue intimacy in this chapter, please leave feedback and thoughts on how this is going so far!!


	10. Walk the Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Official business on Kasyyk, officially awesome Snips

** Chapter 10 **

Vader’s POV:

For a few fleeting moments nothing else in the galaxy matters. Ahsoka is wrapped around me and I keep her close. Our minds meld into one, a shared existence between the intimacy of two force users. I can feel her heart beating as well as I feel my own, our breathing coordinated. The connection we share was incredible to begin with, but now it is terrifyingly intertwined. Her forehead rests against mine as we continue our descent back down from our elevated being. We stay like this for some time, but it passes too soon.

“I was under the impression that Sith couldn’t heal,” she pokes. Reclining my head away from her statement I share with her a look that alleges contradiction. I know where she’s directing this, use of the light side for me has been restricted to nix. This part of the force’s usefulness had long since expired, that is, until today. “I couldn’t stand by helplessly to let you slip away” I whisper. Ahsoka nudges me mentally even without words I can feel her gratitude and loyalty expanding over our bond ‘Thanks Skyguy..’

* * *

 

A natural disaster has struck Kashyyyk, in the chaos both homes and imperial buildings burn and a string of off-world vigilantes and hell raisers race to close in. The governing Moff has sent out a distress for Imperial reinforcements, the Suppressor is currently en route.

As we maneuver entry to the Wookie planet Ahsoka fills with enthusiasm to help the oppressed on the planet. I send over through the force, ‘Our arrival is not meant to liberate those in labor camps... I lack the jurisdiction to change the Empire’s practice of slavery.’ In a deadpan of defiance, she answers “Then we’ll create a magnitude of small mercies.”

We were given the report of how the 300m eagre smashed over Awra Thaakka including the work settlement of Camp Sardo leveling nearly all the structures. Many Wroshyr trees were uprooted by the surge level in the context of soil depletion from Imperial mandated farming. Wookiee families were scrambling to find each other, the distress they were thrung into is intangible.

Ahsoka’s POV:

I hear the wail of a small Wookiee child cradling its legs into a ball as fires engulf the surrounding forest sparked from downed electrical connections. I approach the youngling and he quivers seeking refuge away behind his furry arms. Crouching down in front of him I attempt to soothe him through the force, he lifts his face up with an ocean of tears pooling out of his eyes. I extend my arms wide offering him protection from the pulverized arena. He scoots over closer and I’m able to pick him up and bring him to a more secure and safe encampment. The poor thing buries his face deep into my arm as we continue to move onward.

We are approaching a garrison that is swarming with relief aide passing out supplies and giving medical attention to those who need it. When I find an area that appears to be reserved for displaced and disoriented individuals I implore the commander of this station to put an emphasis on finding the children’s families and reuniting them. At first he looks at me like I’m crazy to be barking orders at him and almost protests, that is until he sees Vader stepping over to us. “Is that going to be an issue for you?” I chastise. Vader stands tall beside me as if stamping my order with a seal as legitimate as his own. Face reddening he balks, “No sir-er..ma’am, I’ll get on it right away.”

Upon leaving the post Vader amusedly points out, “You’ll need an Imperial title... how about Jensaarai..” Skeptically raising my facial markings I nudge, “A Sith name...?” Vader shakes his head in a way no imperial would be able to spot, “A Sith meaning, Darth is bestowed exclusively by a Sith master, so it must be Lady Jensaarai.” I steep into Vader’s knowledge bank of languages to discover the basic translation of the word... _Hidden follower of truth_... rotating my head to him I’m lead to believe that he supports my effort in walking the path of the Force, the Force alone without a push or pull from either side of its practitioners.

Vader’s POV:

An explosion booms in the foreground of the direction we’re walking. This is not due to any broken lines in the aftershock of the tsunami, this placement was intentional. Where the bombs detonated is the old outcropping for the imperial artillery base, along with some raw materials necessary for forging ionized weapons. Narrowing in on the location through force I sense the munitions have been relocated to a more sensible location. If nothing else at least the Moff and his subordinates had the forethought to secure the arsenal, as they would be targeted first if an uprising was in motion.

My mind moves next to what I would choose to target secondly if I were leading my own rebellion. I would need a diversion to gain access to a larger fighting force. The Wookiee housing keep. Ahsoka is already starting in the direction of where the labor tenements once stood, as if to confirm our hunch there is blaster fire in the direction the homeless inhabitants are congregating near, following are another several explosions lining some of the imperial aide tents. Fury rises up in Ahsoka and I pity whoever she directs her rage on.

Appearing ahead is a group of five or so raggedy persons forming an insurgent unit. Surprisingly they are mostly human, with one Trandoshan and one Rodian amongst the sort. Bounty hunters turned rebels... interesting what their stake in this could be. They maneuver in a fashion that exuberantly states what their objective is; an attempt to gain additional fighters. There is a shift in movement, in a blur of disorganization several large male Wookiees rise to halt the insurgents advance, it is then that and one trigger-happy human releases a barrage of fire on the half seated half readied Wookiee gathering.

Ahsoka speeds herself towards the area as I do the same in calling on the Force to quicken my run. She ignites her duo of white sabers, absorbing much of the blaster fire before their trajectory reaches some of the unarmed Wookies. Two of the bolts are refracted back to the shooter disarming but not killing him. I move to handle the Trandoshan who surprisingly stands vastly shorter than me. I cut him down with ease and am met with wallowing mirth from various parts of the indigenous crowd.

Ahsoka’s POV:

My blood is boiling from within, how could these imbeciles move to strike in this time of planet-wide panic. I suppose that was part of the gamble, but they have done greater damage and inflicted greater pain to the Wookiees of Kashyyyk in doing so. Force knows the Imperial labor officers will drive the Wookies harder than ever before doubling their expectations to get back on track with crop and weaponry production. Now with the idea that they want to rise up against the Imperial forces across the world, they will be bludgeoned twice over... These revolutionaries will pay.

The force courses through me with a will so intense I have yet to tap into its complete strength, but I utilize what it fuels me with in this moment. Deactivating my lightsabers I reach out strangling with a force grip around the necks of the three remaining rebels, I lift them high above the ground, as they continue to hover with ease each is gagging and desperately prying at invisible hands. The trio is panicking beneath my grip, life as fragile as it ever has been is writhing in my hold. Instead of relenting I increase the pressure around their necks, squeezing until I feel two fall limp from asphyxiation and the third, the Rodian is stamped out with a flick of my wrist thus snapping his neck.

I allow the bodies to fall back to the earth in a morose fashion. I am huffing to regain composure as silence falls upon the audience watching for my next move. I pivot around measuredly, hundreds of eyes fixate on me. Wookies are being parted by a short movement shifting amidst the horde, the miniature Wookie who I found earlier is racing up to the front of the bystanders. He launches himself out from the edge nearly tripping over himself to wrap himself around my midsection. Confusedly I notice two older members chasing after him, freezing when they see the evidence of the slaughter that had just unfolded not moments ago. I pet the back of his head and hold him in place as so he avoids looking at the death surrounding me. I nod to his guardians to retrieve him after I topple over to give him a parting hug.

I come up next to Vader who’s now resuming activity restraining the wounded rebel, the one who initiated the first shot. He hoists him up and we make to exit back to our garrison. There is a low rumble of Wookiee cheering in the crowd, and we’re left with nods and gestures of approval as we make our leave. Once we return Vader highlights that it was Lady Jensaarai who apprehended and thwarted the rebel coup. Many of the officers around the base take a moment to recognize my work, and others size me up. Apparently such recognition from Lord Vader is far and few between, to say the least his commentary is head turning.

We meet with several high ranking officials who with the Moff list out their orders and next steps. These plans cover everything from disaster relief to far off stations, schedules for rebuilding, assessments of what funds they will be approximating from the Empire moving forward, and regiments put in place to snuff out any further influence to overthrow the established rule. These arrangements are prioritized in chronological order ranging from immediate attention to six standard months out.

Vader chimes in for an occasional reprisal or recommendation but for the most part he’s merely listening to manage those in charge on Kashyyyk. Toward the end of this meeting while wrapping up with formalities Vader sends, ‘That was quite inspiring back their Snips...maybe, we’ll make a Sith of you yet.’ the blue stripes of my lekku darken to a stark navy at his adulation. We continue to make leave for our shuttle ‘Respectfully Master, I think I’m going to stick to walking the line the Force has set before me.’ I can feel his presence in the force spark into a full grin, deridingly pressing, ‘You, Respectful? Now I’ve heard it all...’ I stop dead in my tracks I haven’t bantered like this with anyone besides, Anakin... Tilting my head to the side I feel out in the Force and am reminded that Vader and Skyguy are not separate entities but one in the same.


	11. Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka is becoming Vader's second but that in and of itself comes with its own strains.

**Chapter 11**

Vader’s POV:

Ahsoka has become more enveloped with the Dark Side since her near-death encounter with Palpatine, perhaps there is something to be said for pushing one to the brink of existence. It changes you... as it did for Ahsoka, as it’s done for me. Though in her case, she takes what she likes and leaves what she doesn’t similar to what she’s retained from her days walking in the Light.

Her time beside me on the Suppressor has been auspicious. Commanding the notice of the crew through her forward-thinking breakdown of assignments, her strategizing has only become more refined. There is no task that she places on the officers that she wouldn't consider doing first herself, and it’s bought their admiration. The rumors of her strength on Kashyyyk have also instilled a sincere amount of fear around the ship and it keeps them reverent.

I’ve been establishing her rank on our vessel as second only to mine, which will prove beneficial should our forces need to be divided. The outer rim is as docile as it ever has been, black market trade continues to be sponsored by crime organizations and carried out by ruffian smugglers. From a governing standpoint, Sidious hasn’t batted an eye at their proceedings, as long as they don’t give cause to intervene their happenings typically don’t cross paths with the Empire’s.

The most recent event to show up on our radar was the disaffected intelligence agent Berch Teller’s attack on Sentinel Base. Tarkin’s interception of the feigned distress message allowed him to spring the trap that was waiting for him annihilating a portion of the rebel cell before the rest escaped through hyperspace.

Ahsoka’s POV:

From the viewport of the bridge I feel enamored looking out into the ceaseless infinity of space. I’ve grown accustomed to living and working aboard the gladiator class star destroyer, I used to think that being up in space for too long would have me craving the sensation of standing on a planet's solid ground. I’m finding the inverse is true; extended time in space is both freeing and calming. I suppose it helps to be busy with things to do but not so inundated to the point of jutting around the galaxy like it was back in the days of the Clone Wars.

I catch myself slipping into thoughts about what life growing up in the order would have been like if there wasn’t a war on. I allow myself to linger on ideas about peace and prosperity where youngling were given an opportunity to experience childhood instead of rush into defensive and battle readying training. My mind shifts to what it must have been like for Anakin to be introduced to the Jedi when he was, taken into a vastly different pace of life with a myriad of new rules and expectations...

Speaking of, Vader must have been resting on the edge of my thoughts because I feel him calling me to him over our bond. Taking leave of the bridge I relieve my position to a commanding captain who acknowledges me with a cordial salute before taking a seat overlooking the ship's circular controls center. One challenge of living outside the rhythm of a solar cycle is your internal clock is thrown off. Looking down at my Chrono it says 04:00 standard. That can’t be right, am I growing delirious?

Entering our quarters I’m greeted with the mechanical breathing I’ve come to find tranquilizing. “Ahsoka, you have proven yourself beyond dedicated to the Empire... But even you need rest, staying awake for days on end will only incapacitate you.” Vader scolds. Sharply I rebuttal, “I guess I take after my master, do you mean to tell me as a Dark Lord of the Sith your bodily requirements are not the same as mine?” He rises to his full height now, attempting to shrink my argument. ‘I can look after myself, you’ve become lost in trance more and more frequently.’ He sends telepathically. Anger rises within me ‘Perhaps there’s been much for me to dwell over recently!’ I nearly shout across our bond.

Vader’s POV:

Her audacity is enticing but I sense her temperament is due to exhaustion, ‘What is it that you’ve been brooding over?’ I press with the Force. ‘Were you not just parading through my mind?’ she shoots back. I take a pause, I haven’t seen the Togruta this moody in eons. She turns her back to me in a grandiose show of contempt, then something within me snaps. I have her pressed up the wall of the cabin, my hands rest against the dura steel to either side of her head. A scowl grows over her expression, “Go ahead, put me in my place” she dares.

In a split second a prosthetic hand flies to her throat and clenches... Her spirit feels engorged by my motion. Her pupils dilate as a golden yellow diffuses into her blue orbs. Blood rushes through my limbs and as if she can feel my arteries enlarging, purposefully writhes beneath my grip. She continues to twist and sway in an obscene fashion. When I sense what she’s doing I autonomously release my hand. Once her breathing settles I press, “I only wish you’d be open with me.”

Taking my defeated hand she directs us both towards the bed. She encourages me down into a quasi-horizontal position as she assumes the same, guiding my hand back to her throat she begins to stroke its synth leather in an endearing manner. Reflexively I caress her neck while still applying some force to the area. She as much as swoons at this gesture... relinquishing, ‘I’ve been thinking about my upbringing... and about yours... what you underwent.’

In an attempt to pacify her curiosity, my fingers move to massage her lekku. ‘The order refused to accept me at first, thought I was too old to be trained...perhaps they were correct to be concerned’ Her eyes lose their will to remain open, but her force presence remains alert as ever. ‘Do you think Yoda caught glimpses of the future?’ Ahsoka inquires, I shake my head in response, ‘I think if he did he’d have my 9 year old self executed on the spot.’ She chuckles at my honesty. Maneuvering her body closer to mine, my hands trace down her lek in a cylindrical pattern, she responds with a purr of satisfaction. She shifts herself so she rests on top of me as I lie flat on my back, then reaches down to feel for me through my suit. Now I’m the one releasing a humorous snort as she prys open the zipper revealing my girth, ‘In the future, if this is what you’re after you needn’t make a fuss in order to get my attention’ I toy.


	12. The Truth will set You Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka goes snooping around and an unsolicited message raises questions about allegiancies, and in true Imperial fashion, the truth will surface, one way or another...

 

**Chapter 12**

Ahsoka’s POV:

It’s irregular that Vader's been commanded to work in unison with another Imperial Officer. Three days have passed since he left to meet up with Tarkin, heading for the planet Murkhana. Apparently, a cache of communication instruments have wound up, and the pair is looking into it. Traveling in the Moff’s personal corvette, the Carrion Spike they no doubt will make excellent time. I’m standing by on the Suppressor ready for any instruction from the com channel.

Overseeing general upkeep and happenings on the star destroyer is becoming mundane. I skim through many reports and proposals within the Imperial Navy’s database, It seems that Sidious is adamant on growing his Military forces. Despite there being no other groups who have access to funds that would support the slightest hint of opposition. Well, then again that’s what we thought before the Trade Federation played an invasion on Naboo. The Separatists who were in cohorts with the Federation were hasty to arrive on the scene. It’s still unclear whether or not they amounted a vast amount of funds overnight or well off neutral governments contributed to a large sum that gave the Separatists enough strength to continue their aim.

Proposal after proposal flits by the holoscreen. Glad to see intellectual proprietors have found minimal disruption in the new Empire, in fact the market has become increasingly competitive for new entrants. I browse a new request for a class of stormtroopers who are terrain specific and specialized in maneuvering in and those distinct elements, a system upgrade for energy plants on a handful of windy planets... then something unusual, a classified posting that has restricted access.

I gesture to open the file. But it’s demanding a clearance code. Hmmmm... I enter in the code that is associated with my individual. Locked out... what in the world. It must be something groundbreaking to barr out a high-level clearance input. Using the force I Find our tethered bond and travel along it until I’m sneaking into his mind. Not wanting to risk notice I pace back to his last memory of when he went to input his own security encryption for and am offered Vader’s visual memory of when he last used it. I can see myself in the background but a holopad consumes a majority of his scope... and... yes! His lexi-numeric sequence!! Attempting to slowly withdraw from Vader’s consciousness, I finally retrace my path across our bond and then can feel a mental gate being drawn.

‘Ahsoka...’ I can feel the color in my face paling.... Kriff.... ‘What are you digging around for?’ This is good, he doesn’t know. Cleverly I respond, ‘Just want to see how it’s going.’ A scoff is sent back to me...does he sense my lie? ‘The cache was bait. Once we made our way to the location of the communications apparatus and verified their stability we met with the officers who discovered it. In our cross check we were alerted that the Carrion Spike had been overpowered by Rebels. Our attention was diverted to allow the theft.’ Going along with his annoyance, ‘D’ya need a lift?’ Silence... ‘No... There’s a Sugi Crime Lord I’m confident will assist us, with the right... persuasion.’ A beat or two then I reply, ‘Well, keep me posted, I hate waiting by for news.’ His only answer is an irate mental acknowledgment, that comes out as a grunt.

That was a close one... Releasing a heavy sigh I key in his clearance to the firewall and the lock screen disappears. Now, what do we have here... TITLE: DEATH STAR. DIVISION: SUPER WEAPONS. CLASS: ORBITAL BATTLE STATION. DIAMETER: 160KM. Astoundedly in a moment of disbelief, I scroll to the blueprints for the station. A spherical ship as big as a planet... why would you need something so enormous I think to myself. Moving down further to some of its specs I see the word super laser under armaments section. There are over 40,000 linked projects within this proposal, all having their own separate files. I search an entry for the oldest article on file, its dated around the Second Battle of Geonosis, meaning the first phase of construction was being completed during the Clone Wars. Force.. Sidious is a psychopath to be planning this far out in advance. I think I’m just starting to understand what Vader meant by there is much I do not know... Not just about the Force but the way in which the galaxy spins.

 

* * *

 

Vader’s POV:

Steering the Parsec Predator toward the Carrion Spike, the force enables me to keep a lock on its movement by honing in on its unique structure. Fazzah won’t be needing his ship any longer, although effective I’m reminded how unmoved Tarkin is, his ploy of corralling his family and holding them at blaster point was a compelling argument, one which resulted in the Sugi scum to hand over his ship. Cruel that they were killed anyway, but as is a danger with the territory of belonging to a crime syndicate.

We’ve been receiving updates on the havoc inflicted by the Rebels who stole the corvette before they departed Murkhana. I’m lead to believe that this is Berch Teller’s throng seeking retribution for the loss of his last happenstance with Tarkin. Stretching out with the Force I can sense the Carrion Spike has made a jump to hyperspace, so I expand my grasp of the star systems and feel them exiting towards the Fial system. Entering in the coordinates to Fial we are fast to follow. Once decelerated into standard space I see the stars streak apart in front of us again and the fleeting view of the stern the evasive ship taking off again. We’re on them, engaging in the path through hyperspace that they’ve just opened up, but tracking through high velocity chase its not a perfect science and even trailing through the same hyperspace lane I’m forced to slow our pursuit to feel for where they’re headed.

The Carrion Spike has superb cloaking capabilities, I can feel the disbelief of the thieves to find they’re still being followed. Galidraan. The Imperial space station on Galidraan III, I tell Tarkin to get in contact with the station to warn them. The Moff follows up by stating, “Their line is down. No reply.” Our doubt is materialized before us, as we ram into a floating Stormtrooper amongst the debris from the station. I reach out for the corvette to find it’s still in the system, when we are on top of it I realize that it’s one of meditation pods that I was using in order to track the ship. It had been jettisoned after the attack on the Galidraan station. Now, I’m no longer able to track the whereabouts of the cruiser.

We're moving to reconvene with Tarkin’s flagship destroyer the Executrix. Zooming through hyperspace we’re being guided to the hangar bay of the colossal ship in little to no time. Once deboarded from the bucket of bolts called the parsec predator, graciously considered to be a ship, Tarkin acknowledges my assistance and decisively opts to look further into who was transmitting Imperial information over Murkhana. It seems unlikely that Teller’s crew would just stumble upon a space station. I turn and make haste towards my Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor. Soon as I have the navigation computer up and running I’m being hailed by the Commanding Officer of the Suppressor... Strange, why wouldn’t Ahsoka be the one to push through.

“Lord Vader... we’ve apprehended Lady Jensaarai. A warning call was pushed out to the crew, an alert that an encrypted external transmission was breaking through our mainframe defenses. Her personal holopad was found to be the receiving device, a branded insurgency group had been uplinking to it.” Insurgency group... is she an agent for a forming rebellion... Has that been her aim since... Malachor... “Where is she being held, Admiral?” I’m able to speak out... “We’ve secured her in the interrogation room. She has been restrained with Force suppressing binds.” Rage flares through me... without notice I’m crippling the yoke its metal surfacing crumples beneath my grip. Before confirming with the flight deck I’m jutting out of the bay, flying back to the Suppressor with a fervor scarcely shown.

 

* * *

 

Entering the interrogation chamber I see a nearby inquisitor has taken the liberty of loosening Ahsoka’s tongue. She hangs from the center of the room, bound tightly by her wrists and ankles. Her sabers sit confiscated on a steel-alloy table on the side of the room. The tips of lekku darken from the painful attack of the inquisitor. There are several gashes alongside the lines of her midsection, fabric that once covered skin had been ripped by the cuts. Her face is unharmed aside from broken skin in the corner of her mouth stretching upward, blood drips down from the fresh assault.

I stare long in her direction as the inquisitor rambles through how little he was able to get out of her. Temper still bubbling I slam his whole frame to the ceiling and crush him under the weight of my might. Then flinging him down to the floor with an equal but opposite shove of the Force. “Leave.” I’m able to bristle out, as I direct my anger to more purposeful objectives. The inquisitor scrambles to his feet, no doubt coddling fractured limbs and assessing how many ribs are left intact. “Now!” and quicker than I’ve seen most speeders hustle he’s left the space.

 

Ahsoka’s POV:

I can’t communicate to him over our bond thanks to the cuffs. The Force has a twisted sense of humor I muse. He sweeps in closer to me, evil intent is rising within him and for the first time in years, consternation floods my senses. “To think I let myself trust you.” He states with a bitterness that would snuff out a rampaging wildfire. My eyes fall in horror... Moving closer still he takes over my whole being. Regardless of the fact I’m tethered to the ceiling and ground and raised high above him, I’ve never felt smaller.

“Vader, it’s not true---” before I can get the whole thought out I’m being Force choked. My body disavows my intent and I’m hyperventilating. He lowers my position through the Force and moves closer still, matching the Force’s power with his mechanical hand. My neck is struggling, desperately to intake air. I send to him through the physical connection of his hand squeezing around my throat ‘listen to me...’ He halts. Struggling in vain to get my breath back under control, I breast out, “I...didn’t...betray... you.” He merely jumps back at this statement... “Cheap sentiment from a traitor is still cheap.” is his answer.

“Vader, please let me show you...” Motioning for him to remove the force suppressors. A shallow laugh escapes his voco reader. Anger spewing out of his presence, “You have one minute.” He states. “I took your Imperial clearance code, from your recent memories, that’s what you felt when I was reaching into your mind the other day.” I pause, he hasn’t resumed the Force grip so at least he’s listening. “ I.. came across a curious file... one that I didn’t have access to... plans for the Death Star... I was itching to see what was kept so secret.... It wasn’t more than 3 minutes of browsing the information that I received a transmission from an unidentified source. They were attempting to enlist my support by joining a forming resistance, then the alarms went off and the next thing I know I’m being overwhelmed by troopers.” A long moment drags out....

“Why did you resist the troopers.” I shoot him an inconceivable glare that screams I’ve never liked being restrained. “It wouldn’t be the first time that people I’ve relied upon had turned on me....” He begins to pace, just a few steps in either direction in front of me, “Where are the rest of your correspondences?” In total and utter shock I allow my battered lip to fall open, “Do you not believe me? There aren’t any other transmissions. I never even replied to the blasted message!” Again he moves back and forth a few paces. Then poses, “You could have erased the communications. I would expect you to.” His anger is now seeping into mine I bark “Is the Force not being clear enough with you, I’m not hiding anything!!!”

 

Vader’s POV:

Through the Force she feels as if she’s speaking truthfully. But then again, she had the past few months to perfect her deception. Force knows how long she’s had this plan planted. Defiance is still being emitted through her eyes. “Why did you take my clearance code...” I press. She lowers her shoulders as much as the binds allow, “ I wanted to know what I still wasn’t being given access to.”

This approach of talking her into giving up information is not working. Through the Force I tighten her restraints forcing her exposed position to cause further uncomfortableness. She gasps at the pain her joints pulling taught cause. A sliver within me reputes agreeing with her and call this a setup, but the likelihood of her treachery far surpasses her innocence. Sadness flows off her into the space around us. She will divulge the truth, that much I’m sure.

“If you’re going to torture me, you may as well use my pain to your advantage. Take off the force binds.” She next to snarls. I shift around her in a circle, much like a predator does its prey. Stopping to her back I reach up and undo the cuffs, but leave her restrained. As soon as I do a flood of emotions and thoughts rips through my mind. She races to my mental figure pleading with me, urging me to feel the passion and the torment running through her on how I could think she’d betray me so easily.

I’m moved by her show of affection, passion still runs strong in her veins but it’s a more refined understanding form of it. I quietly state, “Ahsoka, I have no way to know... you could have been planning this from the beginning since before Dagobah.” With as much motion as the restraints give, she shifts her head back over shoulder to see me again disappointment flows out of her like a valley being flooded, “Do what you need to do...” she admonishes before turning back around to face front.

 

Ahsoka’s POV:

Excruciating pain rips through the skin of my back, I’m being cut into, no burned. It started with the ancient Sith tongue being recited behind me, and then a blood curdling scream like I’ve never heard before. It took me several moments to realize it was my own voice piercing through my ears. I cannot focus on anything but the flaming intensity licking at my back... tears stream down my facial markings and bile churns in my gut. I have a thought to reach out to Vader through the force but I cannot even stay cognizant long enough to follow through on the idea.

By the time this method is coming to an end, I have dove so deeply into the Dark Side of the force to keep me whole I can focus on nothing but the monotonous breathing of my Master. His unchangeable, mine ragged and hoarse from so much pain being expelled through my mouth. A synth leather glove reaches out to stroke the skin to the side of the branded script. I jolt away from it instinctively, but the hand is determined and makes contact along the muscle running alongside my spinal column. I am not able to control a shiver that passes through my entire body, spitefully but hushedly I bite out, “What does it say...?” Another caress over the affected portion of skin passes. He moves back around to face me head on, “It is an ancient Sith ritual, to enable uncapped strength for those who bear the mark of their name.”

My eyes blaze an incredible yellow and I can see them reflect through the sheen of Vader’s helmet. Not only are my eyes afire but the freshly engraved wording on my back seems to glow depravedly in sync with my eyes. Vader shifts close again, “Snips, did you turn on me?” I hold his stare, diving into his mind’s eye to see for myself his own emotions. Feeling him by his firing sensations, I know behind the cruel mask gazing up at me rest similar amber irises. Fueled by hate, but at the root of that hate is fear, black, empty, and encroaching fear. Being brought back into the moment with the callousness of the question posed, I shake my head slightly throbbing lekku swaying and twitching with distraught “Never, and I won’t. Not in a hundred lifetimes.”

Vader brings me down to rest at eye level with him. His hand finds its way to my jaw, he tilts my head up and to the side gently saying, “Forgive me, Ahsoka...” His hand traces my jawline, I drawback at the sensation at first... his motion pauses, then re-establishing common ground in our minds I coo back into his familiar touch. Using the force I scourge his entire body claiming it as my own, unrelenting with a salacious tone I grasp every surface of his person. His helmet is positioned between my lek and shoulder and remains there grieving for comfort.

Hands shape the contours of my flesh erotically holding me afloat. The material of my pants is cast away as he greedily shifts a pair of artificial fingers inside of me relentlessly. My reaction surprises us both as the force shakes with amending stability, I can feel a pressure differential occurring in the room as his fingers seek to pleasure me. Coming even closer to me he removes his helmet, once our eyes meet we offer one another understanding so profound I feel our force presences collapsing into one. He retracts his fingers smoothly only to replace them with his whole self. One hand holding onto my hip and the other my throat he replaces all anguish from the days' transgressions with his lust. His lips find their way to mine offering a soft tenderness in contrast to his raping thrusts, when we break apart our eyes lock onto each other and in unison, we’re left trembling from the cosmic ecstasy.

 

Vader’s POV:

Cradling her face in my palms I undo her bindings with the force and she falls into me, I can sense how sore her muscles are from being restrained like that for hours. She looks up to me with heavy eyes, she has no energy stores left. I remove my cape from my shoulders and use it to wrap her in it after her clothes have been destroyed. I reposition my mask and pick up the fragile thing, calling her lightsabers to my belt. Holding her in my arms I take her down the corridor through a transport lift to the officer's level. She wraps her force presence tightly around mine as we enter our quarters.

I set her down on the bed and she stirs awake enough to keep me beside her, teasingly she whispers, “You don’t get to leave.” though I sense a seriousness in her words. With forceful precision, the seal of our chamber closes shut and she silently demands I remove my armor. I lift off my helmet and strip off the additional protection that isn’t built into the suit. She nearly tackles me with the Force down onto the bed with her. She snuggles up close beside me and within seconds is fast asleep.

Sleep is not as welcoming to me. It rarely is. I watch a naked Ahsoka sleep peacefully, I am ashamed I tortured her of my own accord for a betrayal she didn’t commit. Force help me, I’m struggling with these emotions she evokes in me. Treachery is one thing, but if it were to come from her I would surely cripple from the weight of it. She shifts her position to face away from me and I can see the damage done to her back... the scar should heal fairly well with bacta ointment. I trace the outline of the Sith script with my hand and she swoons in her sleep backing into me so I’m embracing her totally. Wrapping an arm around her stomach, my own eyes falter and are overcome by a hauntingly dreamless sleep. 


	13. It's a Dogfight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pew-pew pew-pew-pew!!!

**Chapter 13**

 

Ahsoka’s POV:

Stepping into an Imperial flight suit, I have to hop a couple times to pull up the heavy material over my lower half. Zipping the blasted jacket up is a challenge in its own right. Vader is just about snickering over our bond. You wouldn’t know the hassle of putting this thing on, I think, you’re always in your suit... With a lingering glance, he merrily pokes, “Are you quite ready?” My eyes squint in an impatient show of iration my only reply is a huffing exasperated noise.

We make our way down to the flight deck. Hundreds of troopers are readying their TIE fighters, running system checks and calibrating the combat ships to their specifications. The Imperial Navy registers all TIE’s to be interchangeable by pilot, therefore it's typical each stormtrooper be assigned a new craft every time they’re called to fly. Sure takes out some of the fun of having a ship you can call your own, quirks and all...

Walking step for step alongside Vader we make our way to some of the modified starfighters. He pans towards two interceptors, one is black and the other a carbon-colored grey. Smugly I cock my head, ‘I can guess which one I’ll be taking’ I transmit across the Force. I move to enter the cockpit, lifting myself up with increased strength from the force I leap above the pilot's seat with agility and fall into the ajar capsule. I can see Vader following my motion, he moves closer to my starfighter. “Let’s see if your flying skills have remained as sharp as your bravado.” He mocks. My face scrunches up into a testy smirk.

Moving into his own craft by means of more modest physical exertion, grabbing the hull where it meets the lip of the cockpit he nimbly sweeps the rest of his form into the ship. As our canopies begin to close he looks at me and over our bond presses, ‘Please be careful...’ I nudge him back through our bond playfully but the Force feels distant almost like it’s sitting this one out.

 

Vader’s POV:

Being transported by the Star Destroyer we are ready to launch as soon as we fall back into real space. Tarkin has been chasing Berch Teller who has proceeded to initiate several more attacks on Imperial occupied planets in the Carrion Spike. With a little sifting and intimidation of the hopefuls spread throughout lower Imperial hierarchy the informant who was leaking whereabouts of sensitive Imperial operations turned up.

Vice Admiral Dodd Rancit was found responsible for double-crossing the Empire, the infidel was trying to back Berch Teller’s forces into a corner where Rancit would stand to benefit. He caused his own demise, figuratively as well as literally once his plot was discovered I gave the order for his execution on the charge of treason. The Vice Admiral’s last command was to issue the Conquest to open fire on an escape pod he had been loaded inside of and ejected into space in.

What he did offer forthcomingly was a list of scheduled Imperial Navy movements that he had sent off to Teller’s campaign. The list he must be following is chronologically sorted, so the next attack is the one the fleet is setting off to thwart currently. There is an Imperial convoy transporting portions of the hyperdrive for the Death Star over the Gulf of Tatooine. We’re suspecting they’ll set up an ambush on the convoy and so have alerted the caravan to our hunch.

We drop out of hyperspace and instantaneously the magnetic shields of the hangar are lowered. Dozens of TIE take off in formation and Ahsoka and I move out tailing them. What we see once we enter the starless void is an awaiting makeshift battalion consisting of a warship, a Providence-class dreadnought, about half a squadron worth of starfighters, and around 40 droid tri-fighters. This should be fun.

 

Ahsoka’s POV:

One wing of the TIE fighters I command stick with me engaging with the dreadnought and warship, while Vader draws the remaining pilots out with him to handle the star and droid fighters. Making our initial approach to the enemy ships I release command for my wing to split into three distinct groups headed by a lead TIE fighter pilot.

One arm moves in raining down a barrage of fire to the bridge and critical controls system of the Warship. The other is maneuvering to lure the dreadnought to give chase away from its current path of annihilating the Convoy before them. My own sleeve moves to mitigate any stray fire from Vader’s efforts and advance on the underbelly of the warship in an attempt to rip it apart.

The dreadnought takes the taunt and is breaking its formation to take out one, two, now five TIE fighters. Pulling up from the rear we rain fire down from above them looping in a 120-degree arc where we cross their port at a perpendicular range. A majority of the beams brazen the hull of their ship, not enough to inundate it however and its rear cannons are now engaging members of my own squad, a wing on the TIE to my starboard jets up in the light of a catastrophic explosion. The TIE spins out uncontrollably into the direction of the dreadnought creating a crater-sized hole to tear through the side of the craft on impact. There are 4 escape pods that launch from the downed warship but they meet a quick end as soon as the remaining units of my squads lock on their targets.

Vader sends out to me, ‘You always did like making a lot of noise Snips.. If you’re not too busy I could use some support handling these frigates.’ Handing off control of the squadron to the TIE fighter captain to protect the convoy and destroy any incoming friendlies. I speed over to the dogfight I find Vader has himself in, There are about 50 ships buzzing around sending fire out in every direction. I bring the interceptor down to meet its black counterpart, barreling around Vader’s ship to have a little go of the battle, I can feel his amusement rubbing off of him in the Force.

A Droid Tri-fighter interrupts our pattern as I have to reel back on the throttle to dodge its incoming path. Pulling apart hard we circle back on the droid formation and take out one which results in crashing and destroying another two. Heading in opposite directions I hone in on a frigate that is setting out to dive in for an attack on the Star Destroyer which has somehow managed to be left out of the trouble so far. Once I’m on top of the frigate it pulls a hard nose dive pulling me closer back down to the imperial convoy that is now under intense fire from the tri-fighters. Blasting fire in the direction of the attackers I pick off a handful of the droid fighters.

Vader signals to me that the fight is clearing up with us holding the upper hand. I turn my starfighter around back towards his direction and before my sensors scream that I’m in direct line with an oncoming missile, I move out of the way too sluggishly and am hit nearly head-on. Power flickers off and on inside the interceptor, upon the contact of the blast my head was rammed into the panel of controls and I’m blinking hard to clear my vision. I feel like I’m being pulled into a tractor beam but there is no indication that I’m being picked up by the Star Destroyer... I see that in typical Skywalker fashion Vader’s modified this craft and surprisingly has added to it a hyperdrive unit... The systems are going berserk and I can fuzzily take in the countdown alarm that signals engaging in hyperspace. Force, is the ship even stable enough to make a jump right now?

 

Vader’s POV:

I can sense Ahsoka’s distress before she’s even hit. Auxiliary power restarts in her interceptor, kriff... she’s lucky a hit like that did not consume the whole ship. System malfunctioning is confirmed when I see her forward thrusters starting and sputtering out repeatedly. She’s not more than 30 clicks away. I com the TIE captain to move in to evacuate her, but before I get through her craft stalls for a long pause before bursting out into a hyperspace jump... I frantically try to get her over out bond to no avail.

In a fit of rage, I warp the functioning of all remaining the tri-fighters causing them to implode in a spark of energy. Directing my horizon to the frigate that disabled Ahsoka’s interceptor... speeding toward him head on I reach out with the force using his emotions against him which furthers my spiking hatred. I wait to pull up until the last possible moment, so he can see death coming for him... I release everything the ion cannons can generate and pull hard on the yolk to divert collision. A second dreadnought retreats through hyperspace away from the battle as the remaining rebel cell are obliterated... Teller... Debris from the frigate spews around my viewport.

Summoning the remaining TIE fighter pilots we make our way back to the docking bay of the Destroyer. Once landed I hurriedly move to the command center of the ship. “I need the system identifier for the location that the second Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor made a hyperspace jump to.” I command of the navigations officer, the person manning this terminal must have recently replaced his predecessor. He is nearly quaking at my request... “You were not brought up to the controls to incapacitate me in my objectives... Retrieve the coordinates of the interceptor or I will exchange you for someone who can!”

 

Ahsoka’s POV:

I can smell metal heating up and the creech of a ships frame bending under the weight of entering an atmosphere... My eyes bolt open, but my vision is waning and I realize that the seal for the life support unit the interceptor has broken, thank the Force for heavy flight suits... My montrals cry out from the pressure of entering a planet's gravity. I attempt to take back some control over the ship but I can only level it out so it’s at a less intense incline to the planet's surface.

I groggily search the view from the shell of the cockpit hatch... I can barely make out colorations of the world I’m quickly approaching due to the flames streaking across the canopy. I think to reach out to Vader to let him know I’m alive... at least for now... I can barely manage enough control over my mind ‘Skyguy---’ and then my vision dims.


	14. Avowal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka crash lands on a planet she is too incapacitated to recognize. Vader takes some time to reflect.

**Chapter 14**

 

Ahsoka's POV:

My Force presence is able to determine that the starfighter has stopped its fall and must have crashed. But I cannot feel anything around me, just an intense unforgiving heat wanting to swallow me whole. No matter how hard I try I cannot rouse myself from whatever state I’m trapped in... maybe it was a terrible crash and my body refuses to deal with the aftermath... Or maybe I didn’t make it through the crash... My Force presence grims, silenced by this notion...

 

* * *

 

My eyes peek open ever so slightly, just enough to be stung dry with a hot gust of air, grains of sand clinging to my lashes. They close on their own accord shortly after... Soon I feel strong but worn hands grasping my arms and lifting me from my position. I’m placed down onto a primitive pull sled of sorts. I try in vain to identify who has found me, under their thick desert garb I’m unable to tell if they are friend or foe.

I am inebriated by my collision with the planet’s surface. Attempting to crane my head up to the eopie pulling my sled but more importantly to the rider mounted on it’s back, I can only make out a figure fully cloaked in layered tans to shield from the intense sun. Turning back over I see double suns, cursing my eyes I grimace...Force, I just want my vision to stop playing tricks on me. Back in the direction of the downed ship I hear a thunderous explosion... Black smoke climbs swiftly and I can see the fire of the boom rising over the horizon of dunes. With that I drop my head back onto the cart and allow my eyes rest, trusting my rescuer to tow me away from any additional combustions.

 

* * *

 

Curled in bed I can sense daylight flooding into the whitewashed adobe room. My headtails lay across my back and side as I bury my face into the pillows evading the afternoon shine. I can feel the simple loose woven fiber of sheets rub against my skin and a thick canvas styled blanket weigh down on me for warmth... I’m diving into its texture as the voice of a ghost sounds to me..“I was beginning to wonder If you’d ever wake...” My eyes burst open... and my body is instantly wound tight into a crouching position ready to spring... “Obi-Wan...” I snarl...

“Ahsoka...Calm down, I mean you no harm...” Relaxing my face muscles to lessen the sharpness of my bared teeth... I slowly am remembering what happened... The battle, we were winning, it was almost over... But then I was hit and the interceptor began defaulting to a hyperspace jump... Then a long period of nothing not being able to think or move hardly able to blink...

“It was you who pulled me from the wreckage?” Obi-Wan gives an earnest bow of his head in confirmation. “How long had I been out for?” He relinquishes a drawn-out sigh before considering, “You’ve been sleeping for close to a week, but before I found you I haven’t a clue... I saw your starfighter plunging out of orbit, by the time I reached the crash site it had been a whole standard day’s ride.”

Throwing back the covers I rise out of the bed... Noticing my restrictive Imperial suit had been replaced with loose fitting desert clothing... my face pales. Angrily I stomp out of the bedroom and make way for the exit of the dwelling. Obi-Wan is quick to follow my movements... I step out into the ocean of desert before me and heatedly begin making haste in any direction away from the Jedi Master... He chases after me gasping, “Ahsoka wait just a minute... Where are you going!?”.

“There’s nothing around for hundreds of kilometers...” In taking in the vastness of my surroundings, he is able to catch up and reach a hand out to my forearm... I instinctively pull it back away from him, now lips curled to reveal my predatory teeth as hiss in a show of loathing. My eyes lock onto him with hate... His hands raise palms open in a sign of surrender, “Please... I didn’t even know you survived the fall of the Republic... Though I had hoped, come inside...“

Unmoved I bite out, “Obi-Wan you speak of that time so unaffectedly... I know what you did to Anakin, I saw you cut him down on Mustafar...” This disarms the noble master as his jaw drops in astonishment. I take this opportunity while his guard is lowered to leap and attack him, in the heat of my anger I find my lightsabers have been removed or rather still to be attached to my flight suit belt... I begin a physical assault but every other blow is dodged, he is letting me tire myself out...

“Ahsoka! Stop! In your condition you mustn't exert yourself like this!!” I falter with my swings... my condition... has the desert deprived Master Kenobi of all sanity, I’ve just spent that last week recovering... He rotates in this movement to pin my arms behind my back to force me to quit. “I see that you haven’t lost any ferocity since I last saw you... However---you can’t act just to serve yourself anymore...” Leaning into his posture I kink my head back to look at him... “What in blazes are you going on about Obi-Wan!”

His grip softens and his eyes etched with time and the strain of many cycles spent in this harsh climate broaden... He keeps like this for a second or two longer making sure I have a chance to be pacified by the Force’s song twisting around me. Strange the Force has flowed around me in the past but I haven’t ever felt it humming at such an intense frequency as it does now. He distantly mutters, “You don’t know...” I slam back, “Don’t know what....”

“Let’s finish this conversation inside...” he pleads releasing me. I turn back to the desert scene, dusk is silently sweeping over the landscape and it occurs to me that the twin suns I saw yesterday weren't a result of my vision blurring but binary stars... With a hearty breath, I conclude which planet I’ve made it to, Tatooine...

Striding behind Obi-Wan back into the residence, I find a seat at a small table near his modest kitchenette. He moves to boil hot water for tea... Old habits die hard I muse... “What aren't I aware of Obi-Wan...? With a sincere look, he shifts over to my side of the counter, lowering himself down on the seat adjacent to mine, “You really can’t sense it, can you?...Ahsoka... you’re with child.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Vader’s POV:

I haven’t heard anything on the whereabouts of Ahsoka. There was no way to trace her locator beacon after her systems fried... I’ve been reaching out to her through the force but she hasn’t given any response. I sense she survived whatever system she made it into, but I can’t seem to locate where... She hasn’t communicated across our connection and I worry if it’s because she is unconscious or worse, avoiding doing so willingly.

If ever there were an opportunity to escape the Empire nearly getting shot down in a space battle would make for a good break... But, she was so compelling in her determination not to leave me again... then again we never really reached closure on the transmission sent from the rebel organization. Perhaps they instructed her on how to divert attention away from her true motives, by using the mayhem to her advantage...

Until she reaches out to me, I’ll have to remain... optimistic that she did not run away to a de facto group. Sidious sensing my distress over her vanishing has elected to enlist several bounty hunter gangs to look for her. I fear his intentions are not so pious, by heading the retrieval group on his own I have no doubt he could assign additional inquisitors to assassinate the apprentice before I can get to her or be made aware of her location...

Uneasiness begins to brood in my stomach... I haven’t felt this much concern for someone since... Padme. The memory is hard to suppress, her gregarious smile looking up into my face gently holding me in an embrace telling me everything was going to be alright, that she was going to be alright... that my fear had no righteous grounds... My eyes were opened to the Dark Side so I could protect her, I willed myself to abandon all resolve so that no harm would come to her. Shutting my eyes and exhaling with contempt... as it lacked control then I find myself questioning what does it offer me now help my stray padaw--

Catching myself... I identify that she has become much more than just my once padawan. the rumbling in my middle creeps up into my chest, a pang of terrible misery nearly compromises my position... I’m forced to grasp a beam in the transparisteel window of the viewing deck to steady my position... _Beware my apprentice of who is manipulating who..._ I should be enraged should want to hunt her down myself for toying with my psyche, but searching for any loathing fire towards her, I find myself coming short of any mal-intent... No it wasn’t manipulation she was playing into, rather her feelings... it was the improbable joy she found in our rekindled fellowship bubbling into my own spirit.

Remarkably I can’t help a growing smile curve my face over the concept... I cannot change the road I’m on, I’m too far gone. Have committed myself too fully to Sidious to turn back now, but Ahsoka has been subtly filling the gaping void in my soul with a simple truth. She cares for me, after everything I’ve destroyed, after tearing the world she knew apart... She still sees something within me to stand behind and rally for... I sense a distant emotion rising to my forethought... Hope.


	15. Prodigy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time spent in the desert always changes your perspective

**Chapter 15**

Ahsoka’s POV:

The world around me comes to a complete halt... The Force swirls surrounding me, as if playfully bearing a request to me... I frown looking down at my abdomen. My hands raise on their own as if I have no control over my limbs, they rest on my stomach... searching out for the truth I allow the Force to introduce me to what this means...

I can feel a tremor, no a throbbing... A Force presence radiates through me, one that is hauntingly similar to Anakin’s but unique and different still. My montrals had been blocking out all noise and have temporarily abandoned all sense of place at this new revelation. The first thing they pick up on as I regain sensation over them is a small but powerful heartbeat just trailing my own heart's rhythm. A baby... conceived in all of this madness? How could I not feel it before, it’s as if the universe had been tilted in a fashion that was wrong until this moment.

I snap back into reality... looking up into Obi-Wan’s uncertain eyes. “I’m a fool, how could I not realize...” I breathlessly admit. He reaches for the pot of hot water to heat up my tea of delicate spices, there is concern etching his expression as he pries, “The Force is strong with this one already.” I smile numbly this little one is going to need all the support it can get, how dare the Force bring life into this deadly mix... I shift my eyes to the heavens cursing the Force for creating something so small and innocent into a time of unrest and domination.

Bringing my eyes back down to meet the Jedi Masters, I really see him for the first time since falling to the planet... It’s been five years since the fall of the order, pain and isolation look as if they have amplified Master Kenobi’s torment over it all... After a considerable effort of choosing his next words, his posture stiffens to brace himself for what’s to come with this next series of questions. “Ahsoka if you go back the Imperials will terminate the fetus, destroy its life and your own will become jeopardized too...” I scoff at him, can he not sense the Skywalker aura originating from within the child... he doesn’t know where I sit within the Empire, he can’t sense who the Father is.

I’ll play my hand and see what I can get him to reveal... “I didn’t think it was possible to conceive with parentage from two different species...” Obi-Wan blushes at this... “Uncommon as it may be its far from impossible... hybrids have been around ever since inter-system travel was first pioneered.” I’ve never come along a Togruta Human cross, a fleeting idea of what the child will grow to look like sparks a maternal nerve within me. Where is the galaxy did that thought come from, I just find out I’m pregnant and all of a sudden I can’t focus for more than two minutes?

I shake my head... Obi-Wan must be curious to the fraternal lineage as he asks, “I’m assuming the Father is human seeing as the Empire strays away from filling positions with other sentient species...” My eyes narrow and I turn my gaze to the floor... let him read into this movement as he will I can’t give up too much information.

Telling Vader will be an entirely different matter... one I’d like to address in person. I need to learn more about why Obi-Wan is hiding out in the middle of the Tatooine desert and it will give me an opportunity to break his focus from me for a few minutes. He shies away from my inquiry summing it up as his last mission under the Jedi, I gratingly resist the urge to roll my eyes. In this sense, it’s a hard draw between the Jedi and Sith for who places the greater emphasis on duty. I reach for the connection between Vader and me...

Vader’s POV:

‘Hey Skyguy...’ I nearly drop the holopad I was using to pull up information on lone Togruta reports from the underworld. ‘Ahsoka, are you alright?’ I shoot back to her instantly. I can feel a warmth and growing calmness seeping over our bond, ‘I’m safe, the interceptor is unrepairable I’m afraid though... Sorry for not reaching out to you sooner, I was... preoccupied.’ I can’t help myself honing in on the emphasis on her last word... ‘Sidious has crews out searching for you, I sense their intentions are deplorable, be careful.’

‘I’m going to need a lift but you can’t bring an entourage, I need you to come alone...’ she states. Something is amiss, why would I need to come alone, not even the 501st? What ploy is Ahsoka using, a rush of panic courses through my veins, is she plotting to betray me... as if sensing my worry she caressingly presses, ‘You have to trust me, Vader, I am not planning anything but there is... something else, something that we need to sort out...’ I hold up a certain level of distrust before continuing, ‘Where will I find you?’ she pauses long and hard as if reconsidering telling me her whereabouts... ‘Tatooine...’

 

Ahsoka’s POV:

I slept better than I had in months last night, Obi-Wan is an attentive host I must admit... it makes it harder to slip away from the kindred spirit’s attention. I’ve climbed a dune not too far away It overlooks the humble domed habitat which is Obi-Wan or Ben’s homestead... The first sun creeps up over the horizon in the distance, a coarse but warm blanket is draped over my shoulders as Obi-Wan takes a seat in the sand next to me. He passes me a canteen of freshly harvested water from the vaporator he tended to first thing in the morning.

Sand seems to be sliding into my boots despite my best effort to prevent that, the last time I was on this barren planet was with Anakin to return Jabba’s son... It was a less than pleasant experience for Anakin to come back to his homeworld. A lot about who Anakin was, comes back to this dry and blistering place. As much as he tried to not let it define him, there was much affected him here. His attachment to his mother, the hardships that he faced, having to grow up and be a protector for those he cared about so early on...

I bluntly ask, “You were his brother, no- like a father to him. How could you harm him and just leave him to burn?” His head falls at this like a hot knife slicing through his core he winces from the pain of the accusation. His crisp blue eyes shift up to meet mine, glistening from the pain they express. “There is not a day that goes by that that day doesn’t replay in my head Ahsoka, what if I had done things differently, if I had handled his emotions better, if I could have shown him instead of fight him in his lunacy... I was corrupted by the holo recording of his slaughter in the temple... instead of bringing him peace though I only fueled his rage.”

A pang of hurt echoes in the depths of my soul I don’t mean to twist the knife in the already festering wound, but I am hoping for logic, some explanation to take away just how horrible it was, maybe reason will lessen the burden. His eyes fill, close to spilling over with water, a sin in the desert of Tatooine.. With a couple staggered breaths he settles but it seems the resounding uncertainty of his actions follow him always. I want to forgive Obi-Wan, just as I want to forgive Vader for the atrocities from when the temple was sacked, and yet... I cannot just release this pain into the Force... As if it was testing me to see what I would do I am met with a peaceful touch of the Force on my emotions, as if encouraging me to hold onto these feelings, that it wants me to remember but out of acceptance not hate. I reach up and rest a hand on Obi-Wan’s arm, “We’ve all done terrible things in the state of mind that they were necessary, hard to carry out but the right thing to do despite ourselves...”

I turn my attention away from Obi-Wan to both massive suns, now both over the horizon glowing in a ruby haze as light is slowly overpowering the shadows of the morning across the desert landscape. A herd of Banthas roam indifferently to the right over the high plains a few hundred meters away, they are little more than dark brown specs on the plateau. My eyes span the rest of the salt flat sprawling out before us. I see faint lights in the distance coming from a moisture farm, without much direction but an uncurbed curiosity, I ask “Obi-Wan what are you really doing out here. The order is dead, why stay here?” His own eyes shift to the distant moisture farm and I wonder what is going on in his head... “I made a promise, it is not a glamorous assignment but a very important one nonetheless...”

I huff out in frustration... With that he gracefully hops up and extends a hand to help me to my feet... Once standing we take in the day’s beginnings one more time, the second sun following the orbit of the other. Obi-Wan nudges the canteen in my hand as if chiding me on the importance of hydration ‘in my current state’... Force I’m pregnant not dying Master Kenobi... though the cool liquid feels undeniably refreshing in my mouth as it quenches.

I look down to my stomach, what would have happened had Padme lived. It most certainly wouldn’t be me bearing the Dark Lord’s prodigy. Padme was pregnant was she not, towards the end I remember seeing her on Mustafar in the shared memory with Vader. What would of become their child in the new Empire... Would Palpatine of abducted the youngling to become his tool refusing Vader even the slightest role in parenting his own offspring. My heart sinks at the thought of the reality their child would be born into... I can feel how dry my throat becomes again at the realization that the child I’m carrying may have not so different a life...

Cutting off my own thoughts I turn to the old Master saying “I need to go into Mos Eisley to get some things.” Cocking an eyebrow Obi-Wan gives me a look of consternation, he knows I cannot stay forever but appears hurt by the prospect of an early departure anyways. As if he were awaiting an invitation a smile forms on my lips as I hint, “I’ll need a guide, I’d hate to waste the day mindlessly wandering around a spaceport.”

* * *

 

I’m just biding time now that we’ve picked up imported fruit and small portioned fare from several of the street vendors lining the main drag. There is commotion by a break in the stands nearby an alleyway a slave woman is being beaten by her master for protecting her child from receiving his own beating for taking a parcel of bread. There is shouting in Huttese as he kicks sand into the bent over woman's face as he pulls her arm up and back into a painful angle. Most all of the other shoppers ignore the scene keeping to their own business.

There is a woman however, dressed in grey loose fitting clothing with a cowl wrapped over her tied back hair, who passes a few wupiupi to the stall owner who nods accepting payment for the stolen loaf. The slave owner lets up for a moment at this but grips the slave's hair around his fist as he pulls her to her feet she tries to withhold a cry of pain. I share a glance with Obi-Wan but he makes no move to interfere with this proceeding. The slave owner storms off after beating her, expecting her to complete the day's shopping without further incident. A second boy about five years of age and sandy color in hair approaches the rising woman and offers her a bottle of blue milk and a new full loaf and waves to the boy cowering in the shadow of a stall to come out. The woman in shades of faded blue and grey converses with the recovering slave lady I can make out her saying “Don’t lose hope, stay strong for him.” as she motions to the two boys now playing tag in the roadway.

My gaze lingers on the boy... as I watch him move with a balance and adeptness that is unusual for a child his age. As I turn to ask Obi-Wan about force sensitive children in the area the blonde boy runs over to us and nearly pushed Obi-Wan back a few feet with his embrace around his legs. “Ben!” he nearly squeals where have you been the young one demands, the woman in grey has said her goodbye to the slave mother and child and is now approaching. With a genuine grin she moves over to greet the Jedi Master... “Ben Kenobi, how have you been?” My mouth unhinges a tad as the boy and I lock attention. I bend down as he saunters closer to me his features are so familiar to me... smiling like a child he asks who I am and how I know ‘Ben’ I crouch down to meet him at eye-level.

He reaches out to touch my Montral as if seeing a pair for the first time, I can’t help a laugh as his miniature hands make contact with my hollow horns. As I laugh he pulls back and a devious grin spreads across his features, giggles escaping his frame. In that moment my vision tunnels and I can no longer hear whatever Obi-Wan and this woman Beru are going on catching up over. “What’s your name?” I ask the coy child in front of me, Obi-Wan turns his vision to the two of us as if to interrupt. “My name is Luke... Luke Skywalker, this is my Aunt Beru I stay with her and my Uncle Owen.” He comes in closer to give me a concerned hug asking if I’m alright my expression must have flattened and I can feel my Lekku stripes blanch. My mind's eye is focused on nothing but the child in front of me and how everything now changes. Luke...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts, feedback, critiques?! sock it to me I'm dying to know what you think


	16. Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader comes to retrieve Ahsoka from his desert homeworld, what he doesn't know is that she won't be joining him.

**Chapter 16**

Vader’s POV:

I set the transport ship down on a landing pad... Taking in the all the residents of the spaceport and surrounding town I am annoyed already at being back, Tatooine you have not been missed.  
As I move out of the craft I reach out through the Force for Ahsoka. I can make out her figure in a moment, leaning under the shade of a canopy between small adobe administration buildings she is clothed in traditional desert dress hood raised covering her montrals. Her face lightens but her mood remains heavy as she sees me and I make my way over to her, there are minimal imperial officers at this end of the hangar as to why I chose an unmarked transport.

Once in arm's length, she grasps onto my forearms and with a Force-assisted tug pulls me back behind stacked cargo crates towering well above our forms. She nearly slams me into the crates and before I can wonder if this is a half-hearted assault she wraps herself around me in an embrace humming into the shoulder of my suit. I find my hand reaching up to cup the back of her head resting on her rear lek keeping her close to me.

After a few moments like this, she brings her head back to look into the lenses of my mask... Taking a deep breath she presses through our bond, ‘I have so much to tell you...’ Before I can gesture to move back to the ship, she takes my right mechno-hand and guides it down to her lower abdomen. A moment of confusion passes me and then I can feel a blend of our Force signatures ebbing from within her, the source has distinctly its own aura but in a way is also a combination of Ahsoka’s and my own.

“Snips, I can’t believe it...” joy is not a feeling I can show through my vocoreader but I can send her nothing but elation over our bond. An infectious smile grows across her face but her eyes loom with sadness, I draw her close again back into me holding her in my arms she continues silently. She begins shaking her head feverishly and her eyes moisten with tears that are trying to escape...

Through the Force I press, on... ‘You don’t want this do you?’ She looks up at me with a piercing focus, ‘I didn’t know it was possible, it had been such an unrealistic concept to me... but now that it’s happened the universe feels like it had been incomplete up until now.’ My body slumps in relief at her confession. Though she continues on... ‘But now it’s not just us we have to worry about... I---It’s not--- I can’t come back with you...’

Ahsoka’s POV:

He knows I’m right to be worried. Sidious would use this child to tear us apart, make us turn on each other. And besides an Imperial station is no place to raise and stow a child. The danger is great enough for each of us individually but pool that together with a newborn, I can’t fathom subjugating our baby to a life like that.

 _Our baby..._ Force how did this happen, I don’t know where we even stand. Our relationship is definitely atypical, even for a rule bender like Anakin this has crossed some very clear, very firm lines. Even the Sith teach to be wary of and eliminate attachments, in addition to being so interconnected in each other's past and current selves, now there is a living connection tethering the two of us together... So many emotions spill out from Vader and enter into my consciousness, terror, comfort, anger, peace, hatred, and understanding all boil up into a plea “I can’t protect the both of you if you’re not with me.”

“The risk is even greater for me to be at your side... at least until we can conjure up some sort of plan.” I admonish. He conceives what I mean, but I can tell it doesn’t sit well with him. Sorrow like I haven’t felt from him before close to knocks me to my knees, I have to lock down on my mental shields should I reveal too much in this wave of crushing turmoil. “You’ve trained me to be able to take care of myself, we’ll be safe here you know as well as I do the Hutt clans control this part of the outer-rim anyways, we will be out of the Empire’s scrutiny...”

I can sense his apprehension... his fear that the Force is offering him up this gift like it did with Padme, only to strip him away from it again. Stars, Vader was sprouted out of far-reaching dread for the safety of his loved ones... Foolish that the Force would bestow such a role onto me, a tool for the Empire, no Vader’s own knife to be transformed into a vessel for his despair...

His hold on me constricts as if silently fighting the validity of my argument. He has invested so much into our rekindled tie, he does not want anything to happen to his investment of time and energy. Additionally, now that I carry him an heir, the notion of my value has rocketed. Latching on to my thoughts he attempts to get me to release my mental barriers. I acquiesce and a strange mix of fondness and longing envelope my sphere but seem to rest hovering over me not transpiring into any words or action.

What I would give to be able to see through his helmet, I question whose eyes I would be met with... Would they be the crisp cerulean or the ornery copper... As if it were loitering for the correct question to be posted the Force expels a sensation over us both, his head tilts up in sync with my own... An undeniable feeling of Hope passes between us.


	17. Coming to Terms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan discovers a hard truth Ahsoka learns some useful information as well.

**Chapter 17**

Vader’s POV:

With a lingering goodbye, I turn to make my way off the planet. Never had I considered wanting to spend any duration of time back on this sand trap, but now that Ahsoka opts to stay behind my heart feels a change. If it were possible, if it were safe, I’d stay here with her.

It is a good plan, and she does make many sound arguments for it, the Empire will look here only as a last-ditch effort. If she abides by her plan of staying amidst the outer reaches of the civilized towns and settlements there is a minimal chance of her being exposed. But as her term grows closer to completion I don’t want her being held here, _I will not allow a child of mine to be born, let alone grow up in this barren wasteland._

A surreal wave of acknowledgment sweeps over me as I’m exiting the planetary atmosphere. She is carrying my child. I find my mind trying to work out where this leaves us, in a rotating spiral of pride and indebtedness she has bound herself to me fully... Snips... she has long since eclipsed the position of student, I will not place her as my equal though deep down I know she’s earned it twice over, she is not my Concubine... and yet her devotion rivals that of even Padme.

Ahsoka... you deserve so much more than I can offer, the thought sends rippling chills throughout what's left of my remaining limbs. Through my own fault, I deprived Padme of a normal marriage, complicating our relationship to the point of absolute secrecy. In Ahsoka’s case, I don’t even dare to admit to myself her worth, how much she means to me... let alone voice this to her.

In a mental plea I pray that no harm comes to her, that she is looked out for, and that the Force be with her. A shadow is cast over my conscious, have I just subjugated my beloved Snips to a lifetime of emptiness and separation... No, I quickly correct my logic, a plan will be devised we will figure out a way to have and rear the youngling together, this is just temporary. It has to be.

Ahsoka’s POV:

Slipping back into the primary lanes of street merchants and traders I reach out through the Force for Obi-Wan... He handled my excuse for needing the privacy to shop for more intimate garments alone well enough. I sense him resting in a cantina a few blocks to the south, I head out in that direction to join him but am stopped at a large open cross street...

There is much commotion about the makeshift square, a large crowd is gathering about as a bi-lingual announcer starting in Huttese exclaims the start of the slave auction. He switches to basic but his words are heavily punctuated with an outer-rim accent “This new shipment has just been received from Zygerria, they are broken by the Royal Slaver Guild, but are yet to be worked they’ve been posted at no more than three auctions before today...”

Paraded in single file with bound hands, their heads all bowed looking to their feet. They are motioned to face the gathering crowd and look up. This lot is all male thin from lack of food but all seeming to be built to handle labor jobs well enough... There are a few bids on a handful of slaves, numbered clay tiled are hung around their necks with a corresponding bidder’s number. The group is walked off the elevated platform much the way they came in, the numbered persons shifting to a separate space away from the others.

I feel a warning in the Force as a hand grasps onto my shoulder, I spin to see who it is instantly expecting a bounty hunter or worse one of Sidious’ inquisitors. The owner of the hand must feel my body tense and prepare to whirl around as I’m being whispered to not make a scene. I turn my head to see the hand belongs to a nervous Obi-Wan, I shoot him a foul once-over. He apologizes, “Well you most certainly are an excitable one...”

After I sweep a security glance over the area and back in the direction Obi-Wan came from I turn my attention again to the platform. Now a train of women and girls are mixed together all seeming beautiful by their own species’ standards. The bidding for this group is much noisier, it appears that Jabba has sent a couple scouts to find new dancers and serving slaves for the Sabbac tournaments. I catch eyes with a Twi’lek who must be close in age to myself, the auction guards move the position of the slaves lifting their arms and requiring them to move around in a provocative manner. I can feel her defiance drop as she is forced to this public ridicule, my fists clench so tightly at this the blood flees from my knuckles...

The Jedi Master beside me must be tracking my emotions because I can sense him attempting to soothe my anger through the Force. I cock my head to level with his, I hushedly lament “This is wrong.” He shakes his head as his eyes sorrowfully say there is nothing to be done. I look back at the Twi’lek she had been sold to Jabba and the fight in her eyes that had reached out to me moments before is now replaced with a blank stare with the understanding of what the remainder of her life will be. I can hardly fathom what Anakin’s childhood must have been, to be born into this evil.

Once we depart the greater area of Mos Eisley we find the double seater swoop we rode in on. He stops his movement as the baby within me lets out a pounding Force wave that causes us both to stagger for a moment before regaining our footing. His grey-blue eyes widen despite the intensity of the midday suns. He tilts his head back and I keep mine angled down... “Ahsoka, who is the father of the child?” I grit my teeth together, come on little one... We have to be more careful than that.

Obi-Wan starts to creep closer towards me, there are few people round this part of the outpost... I force a shallow smile to my lips and dramatically swing my head to and fro... He presses, “You never did tell me what you were doing flying an Imperial Starfighter...” Kriff Obi-Wan... why do you need to know... “What will you do if you disapprove of the answer?” I rebuttal. His face flushes, he realizes he will not raise a hand to harm me. He foresees where this is headed... defeated, he expels, “How could you join the Empire?” Taken back by this I sense Obi-Wan projecting a severe pain of deception.

Blatantly I tell him the truth... all of it. “I wasn’t running away, I lost control of the ship in a battle. I am something apart from the Imperial Navy, however... as to the Father, Obi-Wan I am truly shocked you haven’t put two and two together..” If nothing else it will buy back some of Obi-Wan’s trust, he will not abandon me, not now. The graying Master takes a fumbling two steps backward eyes growing even bigger.

“Vader, Darth Vader?” He asks voice cracking at the end of the name. I step closer towards him, “Yes, Obi-Wan we have much to discuss...” His palm meets his forehead as he slowly rakes his fingers through his hair in astoundment.

 

* * *

 

Vader’s POV:

It seems that my Master is keeping me busy I have been commanded to see to several longer-term missions through, their true duration is yet to be seen. I cannot help my thoughts to return back to Ahsoka. I should have brought her back with me, we are stronger together than apart. She said she would check in as often as there were updates, but oh I how I wish I could be near her for all the trivialities. I set up a funds account that can be accessed through a holo reader so she can afford to take care of herself and invest in a quality medical droid to attend to her throughout the pregnancy.

Force, there must be a place we can arrange that can be safe for us both to stay. Somewhere we can stably raise our child... A place that can be easily fortified, where we can control the playing field. It will have to be off of a destroyer somewhere the Empire isn’t heavily invested. In the time it will take to reach the system of my Master’s bidding, I can start to search for a suitable location for a hideout.

 

* * *

 

Ahsoka’s POV:

Master Kenobi was nothing but distant the whole ride back to his singular settlement. When we hop off the speeder, I catch him and prevent him from striding away saying... “Obi-Wan I need you, please don’t cast me out.” His head drops in shame admitting, “I can feel him within the developing fetus... I should have recognized it earlier, I just would have expected something, much... darker.” I take his arm as we both meander back into the dwelling.

I lead him to one of the built-in chairs seated around the humble roundtable. I gently pry, “ Why would you expect something darker?” Letting out a dragging sigh he gives up, “Spawn of a Sith, I just would have assumed there was an inclination towards the Dark Side from conception... We haven’t exactly had a plethora of living Sith to follow about for the last thousand years.” It takes a lot for me not to narrow my eyes, and I brush it off as a slight twitch.

Playing along I ask, “Does Luke exhibit any Dark tendencies?” As if Obi-Wan’s heart could sink any further... His face loses all color, he must have forgotten our earlier crossing. Then his posture straightens at my accusation, in a way that is contradicting he explains, “Luke is nothing but goodness, he is intelligent beyond reason for his age, he is very respectful and trusting of those around him, and is so, so very kind Ahsoka...”

Nodding in agreement I follow with, “Anakin had some very dark tendencies before he became Vader, but Vader has moments when he aligns himself with the Light.” Obi-Wan scoffs at this preposterous idea. I stare him down until his disbelieving facade begins to crack, pleading with him to hear me out I continue... “You haven’t been around him like I have Obi-Wan... I don’t think Vader and Anakin are different persons, I believe Vader is just an extension of the soul of Anakin who has helped him remain strong and keep him from crumbling under the weight of all the terrible things he’s done.”

The once Master leans forward in his seat elbows pressed into the adobe table, posing an impossible statement, “You love him...” I was not expecting that line of questioning. Stars, love? I crane my head in confusion... Glancing down at my waist. “Master, I’ve never been in anything like this before... how would I know?” He expels a humorous scoff... “It wasn’t a question, I can feel your emotions radiating from you.”

Uncomfortable with coming to terms with my feelings, I shift back to Luke... So Skywalker is already a father... my mind changes back to another possibility, “Is Padme still alive?” I nearly blurt out. Obi-Wan’s expression stiffens and grims, “Did Vader share the whole scene at Mustafar with you?” I gulp in remembrance of the memory he inadvertently shared across our bond when we landed after departing Dagobah... In his rage he had Force choked her.

“Yes, but if she died on the landing platform how did you save the baby?” I question. Ahhh maybe it’s only what Vader remembers, perhaps there’s more. Obi-Wan feigns a smile and then a frown quickly eats up all the artificial joy... he admits, “His assault on her did not kill her... She birthed the children with minimal issue, but despite being physically sound the medical droids were at a loss on what to do when her vital signs began to drop. It appeared she lost the will to live, no doubt due to heartbreak.”

Vader was told he killed her, his memories are filled with the guilt of destroying the one person he was so desperate to protect, then that too was a lie planted by Sidious. Shaking the thought aside, did Obi-Wan say _children!?_ “Master Kenobi, did you say she was carrying more than one child?” Obi-Wan looks like he died on the spot at this revelation... I complete my train of thought... “Twins?” I mutter aloud... The Master looks as if I just aged him by ten years, he squeezes his eyes shut and pinches the bridge of his nose, nodding ever so slightly.

I demand, “I need to spend more time with Luke...” He removes his aching hand to reveal tired eyes. He mutters under his breath, “I would have sworn it would be Anakin that’d be the death of me, but now I’m beginning to suspect it’ll be his apprentice.” I fail to hold back a full grin at this and he laughs for the first time since I crashed here, “Tomorrow.” he relents.


	18. The Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka must see Luke again.

Chapter 18

Vader POV:

I feel a warmth next to me, resting close alongside me to take up all intimate space. Rhythmic and peaceful breathing fills my senses, I open my eyes to Ahsoka laying beside me... I shift ever so slightly as to peer over her more easily. She sighs as she turns into my form... Her face is flush with a deep orange highlighted by her facial markings, limited starlight accentuates her bone structure.

Her grace is astounding. The Force is radiating off her in waves, a combination of her own presence and that of our creation... Her eyes flicker open as she feels my lingering gaze revealing copper orbs. A wicked smirk curves her face, tenderly she brushes her arms over my chest and shifts her hand to cusp the back of my neck. Leaning in she whispers to me, “You’ve grown soft, how haven’t you sensed my deception?” It's seconds before I notice an excruciating pain I hadn’t felt until the knife twists deep in my side.

I shoot upright out of the wide seat in my meditation chamber, in a meditative state I realize I must have dozed off... It was just a dream. My breathing regains some sort of regularity... I shut my eyes hard, leaning forward I pinch the bridge of my nose with my mechanical hand. Ahsoka, she would not do such a thing to me... and yet... the fear resides in the deepest part of my mind. She is on Tatooine, over our bond I reach out to her I’m not sure if it is to reassure myself or check in on her.

Ahsoka’s POV:

I am running fast over dunes, sliding down the steep backside as sand shifts around my foot patterns... I burst as fast as I can to reach the peak of the next rising slope. When I reach its summit I turn back to see I have lost whatever it is that was chasing me, when I flip back around Vader is standing before me. I fall into him in surprise, my stomach is protruding from my tan robes, he helps to balance me. Setting me down gently onto the soft and warm sand, he offers me shade as he hovers close above me.

Purposefully he reaches out to caress my middle and the child within. He removes his mask and I’m met with my Master’s face. No... not the face of Anakin when I departed the order. His features are that of a man who more closely represents his true standard age. Though it bears the lines and hurt of someone who has seen too much in their time. And then the vision shifts to him helping me up just as I was settling into the ground when it had just felt so comforting, now I know this is a dream... for Vader’s conscious mind had infiltrated it. We are able to communicate in this sort of shared dreamscape.

He presses through the dream, ‘Ahsoka... are you alright?’ My thoughts must bear an expression of contempt... I was quite enjoying this blissful delirium... ‘Even in my rest you continue to rouse me...’ I snort. He pauses clearly unaware of what was occurring in my mind before he waltzed into it. ‘I had a vision that you turned on me... I needed to see your mind to know.’ In my uninhibited state I can’t help rolling my eyes, the expression on his face, on his unscathed would-be natural face, is that of disbelief and if I’m not mistaken... beguilement.

I take a few steps closer to fill the void of empty air between us. It’s hard to split my vision away from his features but in a show of honesty and surety I cling myself around his trunk and send over our bond, ‘Vader, for Force sake I’m carrying your child... There is no pressure in this galaxy that would lead me to raise a hand or plot against you. What more can I do to show this point...’ He lets out a deep breath that was being restrained and I allow my eyes to dip close.

When I open my eyes again, I find myself back in the shelter of the white-walled and dirt-floored abode. I can visit him in sleep I muse. I toss the handwoven fabrics off of me, glancing down at my body to find that I’m not nearly as far along in the pregnancy as I was in my dream. A whisper of a hum greets me and I am taken aback when I figure its source. The developing life within. I nervously extend my Force presence to respond finding a tickle of a reaction from my insides... how far along am I? I think back to the first time we... two months ago I guess...

Obi-Wan enters the room and notes my confused expression staring down at my belly. He hesitates wondering if it’s okay to approach, I acknowledge him and he comes over to my side. “What is it?” he ponders. “I worry for the fate of this unborn child.” He squints his eyes as if trying to bring clarity to my statement. “Ahsoka, your child is the progeny of two of the most powerful Force wielders in our time...” I turn my head sharply to him now and state, “That’s exactly what concerns me.”

I rise to start the day. He gives me a square look, “I will do whatever is in my power to protect you both.” I incline my head curtly and move to the fresher to give myself an oil bath.

 

* * *

 

Lifting up off the dewback I land with a soft thud of my feet hitting the dry and cracked earth outside of the Lars moisture farm. I see Beru’s head pop up over the stairs that descend into the underground home.

Obi-Wan begins with his normal salutations. “Ben! What brings you out all the way over here?” I fail to see how going into exile in the desert is a safe bet when you continue to sport Jedi regalia and go by the alias Ben Kenobi... When she says the name Ben a rattling follows from behind her as a swift blur of blonde and sun-bleached tan race out to greet us. He gives a quick welcoming embrace to the once Jedi Master and then sees me and freezes.

He crooks his neck up to look at Obi-Wan. Befuddled his mouth gapes open... “Ben is she your--” “Guest.” He cuts him off clarifying before any obscene questions can be asked by the youngling. He doesn’t seem to mind the interruption. Luke meanders closer to me and I can’t help a huge smile from growing on my lips. What a handsome little boy, just like his father.

Ben motions for me to properly introduce myself to Beru, I follow his urging. “My name is Ashla, I was a close friend of Anakin’s.” as I extend a hand out towards her. She grips my forearm and as I do the same she flips my inner arm over swiftly in a near painful manner. She is testing what my reaction will be I can sense. I stay steady and calm at the unusual custom and her eyes lighten as a stray strand of greying hair falls out of its tie and down alongside her face.

Luke staggers over to me now and as if approaching a holy priest repeating, “You knew my father?” I shoot a glare to Obi-Wan as if saying how could you tell the boy his father is dead.  
“Yes, We knew each other very well... You have his eyes little one.” As if in a trance Luke’s vision shifts over my form in awe or in jealousness I can’t place.

He snaps out of it as he shakes his head asking, “Do you want to see some of the changes I’m making to the swoop?” I nod my head excitedly, must all Skywalker’s be pre-disposed for an affinity for mechanical things? He takes my hand in his as leads me away.

As he goes over what mods he’s made on the mid-size speeder, I have picked up on so much of this boy’s upbringing. Vader might kill Obi-Wan on the spot with the hatred of a stare alone if he knew Luke has been here since birth. Though the child doesn't seem to mind, he is loved deeply by his aunt and uncle. He should not have been stolen away from his remaining parent though. A strong maternal instinct pushes me to want to care for and nurture this bright-eyed and joyful kid before me.

As if reading my thoughts Luke looks up, “You loved him didn’t you?” he inquires. My eyes water as the words depart my lips, “I still do Luke.” He scoots closer beside me resting his head on the side of my thigh Exclaiming, “I miss him too Ashla, Ben says that when a person dies a part of them remains behind in the Force... Do you think my father is still here?” I shrink down on my legs to level with his height.

“Luke your father loves you very, very much. He wishes nothing more than to be able to be with you.” I bite out. He draws into my chest and I cradle him in a fluid motion. Remaining like this for a few minutes he turns to look at the swoop again, “So what d’ya think?” I chuckle... so light-hearted maybe bringing Luke back to Vader would do more than I ever could for Sith Lord. “I think the improvements are solid, but I can’t say for sure until I get to go for a ride” I wink to him. His face twists up with exuberance, “You’d let me take you around in it!?” I answer, “Of course, how would I know what you really upgraded unless I got to see it in action? That is assuming you're allowed to be taking the swoop out for rides.”

Beru tilts her head to the side and then throws up her hands in defeat, then Luke jumps off the ground fist raised in victory. I tease, “You have flown this thing before, right Skyguy?” A sheepish grin crosses his face as he turns to me. We hop in and once the engines start and Luke does a final check we’re flying away.

In the Force I can feel a new tether appearing reaching out to me, it is a gentle illuminated blue passing through my mind... a thread that has a sense of familiarity about it. A Force connection is forming, one with Luke? Have we grown that close already? He is whooping and hollering but over this recent link, I can feel his ease and enjoyment of traveling so quickly over the solid ground beneath us. For a moment, one fleeting moment I feel as carefree as I have since I realized we were our own sort of family Anakin, Obi-Wan and I all those years ago.

The sensation of elation is soon suppressed. I feel a pressing from the greater will of the Force, _he needs you._ Needs me?? As a guardian, as a teacher, or as something else altogether I find my mind contemplating.


	19. Eavesdropping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sitting pretty with not much to do can only last so long... Ahsoka is prompted forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Oh my..." Sorry for taking forever to update and then leaving you with a shorter chapter... Trying to get back to more regular postings I swear.

** Ahsoka's POV: **

“Blast it! Obi-Wan, you will tell me where the other child is!” I am fuming... weeks have passed on this barren wasteland Obi-Wan is acting as if every aspect of this new life is alright and we keep returning to a stalemate when it comes to talking about the past leading up to the fall. The only sanity I’m permitted is being able to spend time with Luke. I have begun to instruct him in subtle manipulations of the force how to move inanimate objects about and basic mind tricks but for the moment his abilities will need much harnessing. His potential is great but he has yet to receive any formal training.

The Jedi Master glares at me maintaining the heat in my eyes. “Ahsoka, you should not leave this planet... it is not safe there are bounty hunters out searching for you, did you not say that it would be best to stay unnoticed on Tatooine for a time?” I huff out in frustration and begin pacing back and forth.

In the standard month and a half I’ve been here I’ve been able to see Luke just about every day... our Force connection is significant, though I’ve not shared with him how to develop it to the point of communicating complex sentences over thought. Beru has become comfortable enough with me to allow me to steal him away for a few hours now and again, she has instilled much humility into Luke and a modesty that I think Anakin failed to grasp for his entirety. Owen however is much more skeptical and distrusting of Obi-Wan and some of this fear carries over to me, but since I’ve started to befriend the sandy haired kid, Owen’s less tense and thinks me docile.

“Ahsoka your becoming attached to the boy... which I can’t control but the deeper you plunge the more you put yourself and the twins at risk...” A feral fury surges up within me, eyes transforming into slits that expel ire as Obi-Wan tenses. He thinks that because I’m familiar with the Dark side I can be a danger, but throw in that I’m pregnant and he’d be a fool to not step cautiously. After a moment ticks by he chooses a different tactic...

“What would you do when you got to meet her, send for Vader and tell him the truth about how---” I cut Obi-Wan off spitting, “The truth of how his children were abducted from him and he was kept from the singular fact of their lives! The one thing that could have prevented him from abandoning all light and engrossing himself in Dark side, was the truth that his babies lived. Obi-Wan... you stripped him of that...”

His face falls in pain at the mortification that not only did he physical tear his apprentice down but left him to rot in perpetual turmoil over his loss of love. Defeatedly he continues, “I’ll arrange for you to meet her, but please refrain from sharing this with Vader, he will only be wounded once he realizes it will be impossible to raise them, given his current stature.”

A ghastly expression crosses my face, he still means to keep the family separated... “What purpose do you have to keep them from each other?” He shakes his head in disbelief, “Do you really think he could be a father to them, Ahsoka... while running the Empire at Palpatine’s bidding?” I curse out, “You know nothing of my Master’s capabilities... he has a right to make the decision for what is best for them... You’ve been blinded by your own unwavering devotion to the light to consider that there is still good in him...”

Luke peeps his head out around the corner, in the heat of our discussion we hadn’t realized he’d stirred from an afternoon nap.. His cheeks express an extra rosy tint from the long morning spent working on the water recirculators on the Lars homestead. He looks wounded from the lingering bite of our fight. “Ah-sohh-kah?” Luke tests out the pronunciation... So much for the alias Ashla...

Obi-Wan who is unaccustomed to being caught off guard makes himself busy preparing dinner to evade the embarrassment of being un-Jedi-like in front of the boy. I guide the young Skywalker back into the bedroom to explain, as I catch Obi-Wan sending me an apologetic look. Luke is quick to beat to the point, “Why didn’t you tell me your real name?” He can see right through me, how perceptive he is already... “I didn’t want you to get hurt if bad people came looking for me, I’m sorry I tricked you.”

He pauses turning his head down to the floor, and then flops back onto the bed in frustration. I recline to match his position. “Ahsoka... are you really going to leave so soon? You just got to Tatooine!” He shifts now to curl up facing me... I scoop him up into an embrace of safety and understanding. I push a few strands of thick blonde hair out of his eyes, I want nothing more than to take him with me, but for now his place is with his aunt and uncle.

“Tell me about my father...” he nearly begs. An uninhibited grin paints my face, “He was an incredible Jedi, fearless in the face of danger even when the odds were stacked against us, fun-loving he would always find new ways to raise morale, he was the best pilot in the whole of the Republic Navy, he was my teacher and my friend... Him and Master Kenobi were the closest thing I had to family...” Luke’s eyes are ablaze with the image of his father... I hug him closer as the warmth of the memory wraps around us both.


	20. Lightspeed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lady Tano has princesses to meet and she'll ask for forgiveness later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters at once, hopefully to make up for their length. Priceless, you're feedback is. Hope, comments and kudos give me.

Vader’s POV:

It feels as though a burning light that I’d been staring straight at for hours is starting to pivot in direction, and suddenly it’s hurtling through the midnight sky, then as I see its tail I recognize it’s a comet pushing fast over head and continuing in the same direction farther and farther away from my position until it’s barely able to be tracked, that is how it felt as I sensed Ahsoka depart the Tatooine System at lightspeed...

Where is she going, and without warning too. Stars... Is she running away from our last agreement, has she been apprehended, is she being chased down! “Ahsoka..” I press over our tether.

  
I can feel her suppress a surge of gultines... She nearly blurts out across the connection, “I was losing my mind back there... being stuck in the dunes, the never ending desert cycle was eating away at my sanity, I don’t see how anyone can live there without losing any sense of self.”

Cursing under her breath I can sense her thoughts as she bites her tongue realizing her ignorance.  
“Sorry Master... I didn’t mean.. Well, really...... It amazes me how you survived there for so long.”

I grow uncomfortable with the sentimentality, deep memories of time spent helping my mother with chores and earning our keep under the various Masters beneath the blistering sun and relentless sandstorms, despite it all I never doubted my mother’s love for me she had always made it known that I was something special, a somebody who was destined for far greater things than the life of a slave.

I snap back into reality and notice I’ve withdrawn fully from the emotional connection between Ahsoka and me. Ignoring her concern I tartly press on “Why are you abandoning the system?”

She quickly whips back, “I am not abandoning anything.”

Shortness is something I am having to adapt to in her highetened hormonal state. Leaning onward I correct my question, “What could be so important that you’ve left...”

A beat, then she shoots over, “I have business on Alderaan to attend to...”

Another pregnant pause as I wrap my head around her intent “...Business?”

“I learned something while I was on your homeworld and feel the Force compelling me to see to it.” Is her matter of factly retort.

“You’re saying.... the Force...made you leave Tatooine and head for one of the strongest republic sympathizing systems this side of Florrum?”

In a mental huff she releases “Please just trust me on this Vader...besides you taught me well, I can handle anything”.

Although I will never admit it aloud, _I’ve got a bad feeling about this._

* * *

 

A plan is begging to come together. I have narrowed it down to a handful of acceptable systems, as a base for Ahsoka that I would be able to access easily and without raising too many questions by traveling to. I’m in the process of acquiring a set of midwives for her delivery but I want minimal personnel loitering around the premises after the infant establishes its health, again the longstanding benefit of droids.

She will probably oppose any climate that is too extreme, somewhere safe that the baby can learn about the galaxy and enjoy the simple pleasure of their young naivety. I can already hear her demands for something near enough civilization, preferably a sizable city with a space port for common and specialized goods, but for the time being seclusion holds a heavier weight.

Without notice my stomach wretches up in anticipation with a threat to knock me over, I cannot place the source of this emotion... My mind begins to race though images, no hopes, and then is suddenly drawn blank. It then dawns on me that these sensations are not my own but that Ahsoka is projecting them to me across our bond.

I am just about to force myself into her consciousness to understand the threat but am batted away preemptively as warmth floods over us both and I realize it was the sensation of rekindling with a distant friend. What a miserable cover ‘Business’ as an excuse to quell her longing.


End file.
